My Curse, My Blessing
by Kalluwen
Summary: Naruto and Hinata have been happily going out for a year. But on the night of his nineteenth birthday he leaves Konoha in search of answers long withheld, and to protect the village from himself. Now he journeys towards an uncertain future.
1. The Last Day

Alright, here we have the beginning to a nice NarutoxHinata story this is part one of chapter one and, truthfully, I have no idea how long this is going to be. I have much planned before I get to the climax of the story.

Warning: There will be blood and plenty of it. As well as presentation of masochistic tendencies and thoughts of suicide. And there will be suggestions of sex if not presentations of such.

It should be obvious by the fact that this story is on that I do not own Naruto or any character created by Masashi Kishimoto. Only this story and the original characters (few in number hopefully) are mine.

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_Naruto stood in the fiery ruins of Konoha. Familiar shops and buildings were in varying states of destruction, the rubble being eaten away by the flames that burned strongly all around. All around him lay the bodies of the villagers and shinobi. The Konoha Dozen lay closest to him out of all of the bodies though he could spot the remains of some of his precious people amongst them. Kakashi, Iruka, Tsunade, Jiraiya; every name was a knell of pain to the young shinobi and he felt despair catch hold of him with its icy claws._

_He studied the faces of the Konoha Dozen and his pain continued to mount as though he should die right then and there; their faces were caricatures of agony. What was going on? Who or what had done this? He looked from one lost friend to the next silently mouthing their names hoping against hope that what he saw wasn't real that they would all wake up as though they were pulling a prank on him. His teammates Sakura and Sasuke were nearby their faces close together, but they only showed agony, no peace would find them in the next life. At his feet lay Hinata, a huge gash across her chest opening her organs to the air. The strength in Naruto's legs fled him and he crumbled to his knees and took hold of Hinata, crushing her to him, trying to deny what he saw._

_His eyes were closed tightly, trying to stop the tears that flowed despite his efforts. It was all gone, all that he strove to protect all that he loved had been torn from him and he was left to wallow in his misery. He suddenly heard a deep rumbling laughter and looked up to see a Kyuubi about the size of Akamaru sitting in the street amongst the bodies of the villagers. It laughed at its pitiful container, an evil smile upon its face as it enjoyed tormenting him._

_The Kyuubi was free? How? "Why am I still alive?" He asked the fox demon. The demon's twisted smile grew, "Because I wanted you to feel the worst agony possible. I wanted to show you how wonderful death can be. I wanted to make sure you knew that you were completely alone in this world before you as a human died, and became a demon like me"_

_Naruto looked down to Hinata again, but instead of the hands he was expected to be using to hold her, he saw furred hands with wicked looking claws that were dripping with blood; blood that he instinctively knew was Hinata's. Unable to cope with the realization, Naruto let out a scream of deepest torment and sorrow, and all faded to black._

Naruto hit the snooze on his alarm clock and grumbled to himself, seeing the time, 5:00am. He reflexively grabbed his stomach; he had not gotten enough sleep and he knew why, it was the nightmares he had nearly every night. Feeling the sharp, fiery pain he had come to associate with waking in the past couple of months, he concentrated on suppressing an all too familiar chakra, as he threw off the covers and got out of bed. Heading to the bathroom he relieved himself and washed his hands before brushing his teeth. Then, turning on his shower faucet he dipped his head beneath the stream to get rid of his bed hair, though there really was no point to the act. The cold water invigorated him, and he was wide awake by the time he had dried off with a towel. He returned to his bedroom and put his under armor on over his undershirt and boxers, then dressed in his recognizable orange and black and placed his forehead protector in its customary spot.

Going into the kitchen he got some water boiling and added it to a cup of instant ramen, which he then consumed with gusto on one of his couches. Finishing that with a satisfied sigh, he sat there, empty cup in hand and stared at the ceiling not wanting this day of all days to begin. October 10th, his birthday, and yet he was far from happy. It was not that he wasn't going to celebrate it with anyone, quite the contrary he was having all his friends over this evening for a party. It was what this day marked, what would happen before midnight, that caused him so much grief.

With a soft grunt, he stood up and went to put the ramen cup in the trash, then looked around his apartment. It was clean, due to the efforts of himself and Hinata the day before, in preparation for the coming celebration though one could say that it was spotless as he didn't let trash or dirty clothes pile up like he used to. All they had done was dust make sure all the dishes were clean as well as the counter tops in the kitchen as well as the bathroom. There were two comfortable couches flanking a coffee table along with several other chairs so that all his friends could sit down, as his apartment was apparently 'the' place to hang in Konoha, at least as far as the Dozen were concerned. They would often come over after reporting to the Hokage after a mission, and kick back and relax.

He had often wondered why they did not go home first instead of helping themselves to the food in his fridge. He didn't mind all that much since being with his friends was always a welcome thing. He had had to put a little sign on his door that read 'in' and 'out', so that they would not have to bother knocking and waiting for a reply. They would all be here tonight; he had told Tsunade about his party plans and had made sure that none would be sent off on missions. It was very important for them to be there this night.

Walking to the door he put his hand on the knob and paused, considering what he was about to do. He hung his head and wondered if he was in his right mind, then laughed bitterly at himself. Having hallucinations from lack of sleep had nearly gotten some of his friends hurt. Would that not indicate being out of one's mind? He frowned at the floor. He was doing this to protect his friends; that was most important to him. Lifting his head he put on a determined face, knowing that what he intended to do was best for all, and stepped outside closing the door behind him. _'So it begins'_

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Sasuke arrived at training area three and found Naruto already there seated atop one of the three logs stuck in the ground and watching the rising sun. "Happy birthday, Naruto. I see you are here earlier than me for a change," Sasuke said as he approached his friend. "Still having a rough time sleeping?" Naruto stood up and jumped down from his log, a slight frown on his face. "Nah, just excited about today," He said grasping Sasuke's forearm in greeting, which Sasuke returned with a small frown of his own. "You sure don't look it." Sasuke said as he moved off to stretch before their training. "Well let's just say that I was too excited about today." Naruto said, grinning to cover up his slip, as he too stretched to warm up.

Sasuke looked away. '_Liar. Something has been bothering you for months now, but you won't talk to anyone about it.'_ Finishing his warm ups he stood and waited for Naruto to finish, which he did shortly and stood and turned towards Sasuke with a small grin on his face in anticipation of their bout. Sasuke grinned too; this was what he looked forward to everyday, a chance to fight against what was reputably, the strongest jounin alive. Naruto had taken some lessons from Lee and used weights on his body constantly in order to be always working out. Thus, he had increased his speed to unimaginable levels. He had heard whispers from the villagers along the lines of 'the Yellow Flash', but he thought that was just because his speed was comparable. Though others could see it, he just didn't see how he looked at all like the Fourth, maybe it was the hair.

Through constant training he had also achieved chakra control comparable to that of a Medic Nin and had expanded his repertoire of jutsu. He learned fire based jutsus from Sasuke after the dissolution of Akatsuki which happened to include the death of all its members. Asking Kakashi for some help in the way of more jutsus he added water and earth based jutsus for practical reasons. It would be good to have some way to counter element based ninjutsu. He had also perfected his Futon Rasenshuriken to the point where he could throw the attack at his target, therefore bypassing the dangerous side effects. Using that on a friend would just be foolish though, even if he missed it still caused a lot of damage to the immediate area, so it was never used during these training bouts.

Taking a leaf from Temari's book he now carried a small folding metal fan, it could be used in hand to hand combat and often was with its sharpened outer edge. Since it was made from chakra metal he could also use it to send invisible blades of wind based chakra out to slice his opponents to ribbons. It was an unconventional weapon for a man, but Naruto was anything but conventional; seeming innocuous enough, he would catch his opponents off guard by switching from hand-to-hand to ninjutsu in the blink of an eye and they often didn't have time to react before being cut down. This method was particularly devastating when used in combination with Kage Bunshin, as the attacks would surround the target leaving no room for escape, and the enemy would literally fall to pieces.

Since he had no aptitude for genjutsu, he had been concentrating on taijutsu by spending a lot of time training with Lee; and ninjutsu which, he either learned from Kakashi or the library. While he could detect and dispel genjutsu, performing it just did not interest him so he pretty much ignored it.

Standing about twenty feet from each other they shook out the last kinks from the night and smiled at each other, watching and waiting for the other's move. A few moments passed without incident but suddenly the two ninja disappeared. Running east they flew through the tree tops in a race with no clear finish line now only a few feet from each other dodging branches and newly awoken birds alike. Unexpectedly Sasuke struck out at Naruto with his Kusanagi, which was subsequently blocked by the sudden appearance of a kunai in Naruto's hand. Sasuke began to channel lightning chakra through the blade, but Naruto broke contact to prevent himself from falling prey to one of Sasuke's favorite tricks, which would make his muscles seize up from the electric current.

Still running they came upon a clearing with a stream running through the middle and Naruto jumped out towards the stream while Sasuke jumped high into the sky and began making seals, finally ending by spraying several fireballs all around Naruto in an attempt to get him to go to a planned spot. Naruto went precisely where Sasuke had wanted him as he dodged the flaming missiles, and found himself confronted by the Grand Fireball Technique, which Sasuke had released immediately after finishing his last jutsu. Naruto smiled as he stopped in front of the stream and began quickly forming seals to a ninjutsu of his own. Finishing he brought water from the stream behind him to perform Suiton Water Encampment Wall, which created a wall of water all around him. _'Thanks Kakashi.'_ He thought as the attack dissipated on the barrier of water.

Letting the water fall to the ground he felt a presence behind him and immediately ducked under a roundhouse kick from Sasuke, which had been aimed at his head. He swung his left foot behind him to catch the one leg Sasuke still had on the ground, but his friend sprang away in a back flip across the surface of the stream before he could connect. Using the time while Sasuke was distracted by his flips, he created a few shadow clones which he transformed into shuriken and, together with a few real ones, he threw them at Sasuke as he came to rest thirty feet away. Sasuke saw the attack coming and brought his Kusanagi to bear and deflected all the missiles which went up in small arcs all around him. Prepared to go on the offensive again he heard several popping sounds and found himself surrounded by clones who attempted to strike at him with kunai.

Sasuke had a difficult time putting up a defense against the four clones, which seemed to work in perfect harmony, but he eventually caught one in the chest with his blade and then the others followed as the odds evened. Sasuke found that he was alone in the clearing and he looked all around with his sharingan and listened for the presence of his opponent. Naruto was nowhere to be found though, and he wondered if he was having a prank pulled on him by his friend, who might now be heading back to the village for an after training meal. Suddenly there was a crumbling at his feet and a hand grabbed his ankle and proceeded to pull him into the ground. _'Not again!'_ Sasuke thought as the earth seemed to swallow him up. Soon Sasuke was only a head above the ground as Naruto crouched in front of him and flicked him in the nose and put up the "V" for victory sign in his face with a huge grin on his whiskered face.

"That was fun." Naruto said his usual smiling self. He could forget about his problems in the excitement of training and it was always fun to pit his wits against a worthy foe. Sasuke turned his head away in a huff and said, "I let you win, it's your birthday after all." Naruto cocked an eyebrow at his buried friend and smiled mischievously, "Sure you did." Sasuke snorted, "If I had used my sharingan to its full potential I would have won, but I don't want to kill you." Then the young men heard a familiar feminine voice call out their names and they turned to its source.

"Sasuke, Naruto! There you are. I hope you two haven't injured each other again. I'm getting rather tired of patching you two back together," Sakura said as she ran up to them, pink hair bouncing from the motion. "Hey Sakura-chan, we were just finishing and the only thing damaged is someone's pride." Naruto said as he pulled Sasuke from his earthen imprisonment. Sasuke dusted his clothes off and turned to Sakura. "What brings you out here?" He asked the kunoichi. "I was making sure that you didn't hurt each other and end up spending Naruto's birthday in the hospital, not after all the planning you put into it," She said looking pointedly at Naruto, "Why is it you've put so much effort into this? It's only your nineteenth birthday; it's not like you can drink yet, you still have one more year to go." (1)

Naruto scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I finally managed to get everyone to come to the party at once and that is important to me." Sakura eyes softened in understanding, and then she started as she remembered something. She walked up to a surprised Naruto and gave him a hug. "Happy Birthday, Naruto!" Sasuke's eye twitched as Naruto hugged her back and Naruto noticed. Sticking his tongue out at his friend, he grinned like a very pleased fox, but it was just an act to get under Sasuke's skin; his crush on Sakura had long since passed.

Suddenly Sasuke smirked, "I don't think Hinata would appreciate you hanging all over another girl, Naruto." Naruto literally hopped back from a startled Sakura, but then furrowed his brows as he thought about the situation. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Sakura is a friend, and Hinata's not the jealous type." Sakura rolled her eyes at the two men. "Seriously Sasuke, Naruto's loyalty is second only to Akamaru's, you being here is evidence of that"

Naruto then turned and looked at Sasuke and spread his arms out to the side. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blond and asked. "What do you want?" Naruto stuck out his lower lip. "What, no birthday hug for me Sasuke teme?" Sasuke had a vein throbbing in his forehead. "Not on your life, dobe." Naruto laughed raucously and Sakura, having watched the incident, decided to intervene. "Alright, enough of your foolishness, Naruto," She then smiled warmly at them. "Well, you appear to be done with your daily torture session. Let's head back into town, I'm sure you have some things you need to get done before the party"

"Not really, I mean I have until seven tonight, and it's only just now seven in the morning." Naruto said as they started to walk back to Konoha, Sasuke and Sakura to either side. Sakura looked at him while they continued to walk. "You're not going to wait till the last minute like always are you?" She asked, annoyed. "Of course not. It's just that there isn't much I have to do. I'm not going to decorate, and all I have to do is go to the market to get the snacks so it's not like I couldn't be ready in thirty minutes. I've been planning this for months and the CD I mixed is already in the stereo." (2) He replied to deflect her accusation. "Yeah, but you'll wait till the last minute to go get the snacks, won't you?" Sasuke said keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.

Naruto feigned injury. "Your doubt wounds me, Sasuke. How can you say that about your best friend?" Sasuke snorted derisively, "Because, I know you, dobe." Naruto grinned at his best friend. "I suppose you have a point." Naruto then threw his right arm around the Uchiha's neck and whispered conspiratorially to him. "You need to ask Sakura out." "What?" Sasuke hissed back. "Whether you can tell or not, she still likes you, and if you get jealous if I hug her, how would you feel if some other guy did?" Naruto replied. "You're giving me dating advice?" Sasuke asked incredulously. "The guy who didn't know Hinata had liked him ever since our days at the academy until a year ago"

"Hey at least I've had a girlfriend." Naruto shot back, that silenced Sasuke. "Listen, just because she doesn't hang all over you like she used to, doesn't mean that she no longer likes you, it means she has matured. Don't let the opportunity pass you by, teme." Naruto then released his friend from the hold, since he noticed Sakura was eyeing them suspiciously. Then he looked to his watch. "Oh would you look at the time? I need to get going, I have some errands to run." Naruto started to jog ahead of his friends. "You're actually going to go do your errands? Now?" Sakura called after him. "YUP!" He called back. "Sasuke, remember what I told you." He then disappeared from sight as he kicked it into high gear.

Sakura turned to Sasuke with a suspicious glance. "What was it he told you?" Sasuke, kept his cool and mentally cursed Naruto. "I'll tell you later. How about we go get some breakfast?" He suggested, deciding that, even if Naruto was a fool, he was right. Sakura was surprised at the invitation, Sasuke still generally kept to himself. Sakura agreed and the pair continued to walk at a calmer pace towards Konoha and a breakfast date.

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Naruto laughed silently as he came into the village, enjoying the thought of what his little stunt would do to Sasuke. _'He'd better listen to me for a change or he'll miss his chance.'_ Naruto thought as his laughter subsided. The regular villagers of Konoha were finally waking up and going about their usual business, the ninjas generally were up at or before the crack of dawn, most took the time to get some training or paper work done. Kids played in the streets, but as he passed most of them stopped and stared at Naruto almost as if in awe of him, and their parents smiled at him or waved. Naruto enjoyed the fact that he was finally acknowledged by the village, but the look of awe in some of those kids' faces made him uncomfortable. He didn't want to be worshiped for Pete's sake, he kind of just felt like playing it cool. Or rather he didn't cry out for attention any longer, because he didn't need to, he just tried to keep a cool head over it, to not let it inflate his ego. He smiled inwardly; Hinata had much to do with that, she would praise him, but also remind him of his faults. She loved him, all of him, from his positive traits to his bad ones, and it was her acceptance of all he was, that made him love her.

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A year ago, to the day, before a training session that he and Hinata were having together at her request she had told him she liked him. He was surprised that she did, but leapt for joy mentally, because he had been developing feelings for her. They had spent a lot of time together on missions and Naruto found that he liked her company so he went out of his way to spend a good amount of time hanging out or training together.

Through this interaction he caught on to the many good traits Hinata displayed like kindness, and politeness, and determination, which he found out later, was due to his influence. He had also come to appreciate her quiet beauty, the way her smile lit up a room, the way her sable hair fell down over delicate shoulders, and the way her soft pale skin felt whenever he got the chance to hold her hand. Not to mention she had curves in all the right places. He had scolded himself for thinking that at the time, but then decided the blame lay at Jiraiya's feet, not his own.

He had been ruminating on the subject for some time, and Hinata's expectant face slowly fell, as he didn't respond immediately. Tears began forming in her eyes and she closed them in an attempt to force them back. Naruto had noticed her agitation and finally said that he liked her too. She opened her eyes in shock as though she didn't believe what she was hearing, so he decided to prove it by hugging her. What happened next didn't really surprise him; she fainted, out like a light, and he had to hold her to him to prevent her from ending up on the ground. Holding her close he didn't know what to do so he just sort of dragged/carried her over to the trunk of the elm they were under and he leaned up against it letting her head rest on his chest. He just laid there watching her peaceful face for a few minutes before he fell asleep himself.

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Naruto stepped out of memory lane as soon as he passed the academy and had to remind himself that he had much to do before the end of the day, and couldn't waste time daydreaming. He went inside the academy to look for Iruka, he had stopped using the sensei bit after he became a jounin, but he still looked on the older man like a father and used the sensei honorific mentally. Naruto poked his head into an office to find Iruka going over a stack of test papers. "Good morning, Iruka." Iruka sighed. _'What ever happened to sensei?'_ "Good morning, Naruto." "Aw, there's no need to be like that, I just came by to tell you that you're treating me to Ichiraku ramen at lunch." Iruka leaned back into his chair and rolled his eyes, "I suppose that it's my birthday present to you?" Naruto smiled, "Yup"

"How come I'm not invited to the party?" Iruka asked. "Well it would be a little weird to have adult supervision at our ages. Seriously," Naruto replied truthfully. "So it would seem." Iruka stated feeling older by the second. "Well, I'll see you at noon. Don't be late. Oh, and Hinata will probably be with us." Naruto said as he went through the door. "Oh, so the rumors are true?" Iruka called at his retreating back. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Iruka as though teleporting there. "What rumors"

"Oh, nothing," Iruka said noting the apprehension in his former student's face, "Just that you and Hinata have been going out for what, a year now?" "That's right, pretty easy to remember because she told me she liked me on my eighteenth birthday. But how do you know?" Naruto asked a slight edge to his voice. "Naruto, this is a ninja village, unless it is kekkei genkai or class S level secrets, it's going to get out." Iruka reasoned. Naruto's face fell, "If that's true, how come I'm not dead yet?" Iruka looked at the blond. "You mean: how come Hiashi hasn't killed you yet?" Naruto nodded meekly. "He probably has come to accept your strength and devotion like the rest of the village"

"I'm not worried about his approval regarding my strength, but more along the lines of my breaking tradition and not asking him if I could first." Naruto whispered as though afraid the Hyuuga clan leader would pounce on him then and there. "Well considering that he broke tradition and began teaching Neji, maybe he doesn't see it as such a bad thing." Iruka said patting Naruto on the shoulder. "You think?" The blond shinobi asked. "It is quite possible." Naruto stood up and assumed a pensive pose. _'Well, even if he didn't approve it's not like it would matter. Not after tonight'_

"Why the frown, Naruto," Iruka asked. Brought back to reality, Naruto painted a smile on his face. "Just thinking about the possibilities," He lied through his teeth. "I'll see you at noon then. I have other stuff I need to take care of before this evening." Without another word, Naruto disappeared through the door. Iruka watched as the door slowly closed itself and sighed, there was still a mountain of test papers to go through before noon. Leaning forward in his chair he began the arduous task of grading them all before the appointed time.

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As always reviews are appreciated. Flames are for fools to play with, and as such will be ignored completely. I may have to make the rating M for later chapters. But who knows.


	2. Doing the Rounds

Well the first chapter seems to have been well received so I present to you the second part of chapter 1(there will be two more). Then we will move on to chapter two.

I meant to add this to the first chapter but I was being booted off the computer as we hooked up a wireless network so I forgot it in the rush.

"Just what are you doing?" Speaking

"Just _what_ are you doing?" italics means a stressed word in spoken sentence

_'Just what are you doing?' _ Thinking

**'Just what are you doing?'** Kyuubi communicating, even in the mindscape.

_"Just what are you doing?"_ Speech and text in italics is a dream sequence.

Numbers in a parentheses i.e. (1) (2) mean an author's note which will be located at the bottom.

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Naruto decided that it was time he went and visited the Hokage. He knew that keeping his façade up while there would be the most difficult part of the day, since Tsunade could tell when he was lying, so he calmed himself by concentrating on his breathing as he approached the tower.

Bursting into the door he yelled out, "Tsunade no Baa-chan!" Instantaneously there was a vein in Tsunade's forehead. "I've warned you before, Naruto, drop the Baa-chan or I'll assign you D rank missions for a month." Naruto's face fell. "Ouch, that is harsh!" He said before coming to sit in one of the chairs in front of Tsunade's desk. "I just thought I'd drop by to spend some time with you on my birthday. Since I only invited friends who were my age to the party." He said, a smile adorning his features.

Tsunade smiled affectionately at him before producing a small green wrapped box from one of her desk drawers and tossing it to the jounin. "Happy Birthday, Naruto, this is from both Shizune and me." Catching the box in one hand Naruto proceeded to unwrap it. Opening it revealed a small silvery key chain with the symbol of Konoha on it. A simple gift to be sure, but Naruto appreciated the gesture. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama." He placed it on his key chain and smiled at the older woman. They both turned to the window when they heard someone clear their throat.

"Good morning Ero-Sennin." Naruto said, with a wave. "You should respect your elders." Jiraiya retorted, frowning at him. "Why should I, when they act like perverts?" Naruto shot back. The white haired Sannin got up from the window sill with a sigh, and then looked like something struck him. "Today is your birthday isn't it, Naruto?" He asked. "Yes, it is." Jiraiya smirked at him. "You going to get that girlfriend of yours to give you a "special" present tonight?" He asked. Naruto and Tsunade both yelled at him for being a pervert. Naruto grumbled something about keeping his mind out of the gutter and Jiraiya being a bad influence. Tsunade heard him and nodded in agreement, but Jiraiya just laughed.

"So Naruto I've heard you've been spending a lot of time in the library recently. What is it you're looking for?" Tsunade asked. "Just trying to expand my horizons. I've been reading up on some new jutsus and practicing them. It pays to be prepared for anything," Naruto said keeping calm, he knew his preparations would bring some attention, and he hoped this half-truth would suffice to convince the Hokage. Fortunately, she bought it and asked if there was anything he needed help with. "Nah, I'm doing pretty well by myself… Well I'm going to go now so you can get back to work. By the way, where is Shizune Nee-chan? I want to tell her thank you." He asked.

"I sent her on an errand to the academy, to fetch something, you can find her there." She replied. Naruto groaned, "Man, I just came from there. Oh well." He got up and went to the door and said "Ja ne." before leaving the Sannin alone in the room. Jiraiya turned to Tsunade, "How come he calls you sama while I get snubbed?" She smirked at him. "Don't worry about it"

"Hmm, so what did you want to see me about?" Jiraiya asked. "Well, as you have probably noticed Naruto has been acting strange the past three months. He is often lost in thought and can't concentrate on anything for too long. He always looks like he is running on empty as far as sleep goes. I'm worried something is wrong." Tsunade said a troubled frown forming on her face. "Do you want me to watch over him and find out what it could be?" The toad sage asked. "Well there is that, but trying a more direct approach couldn't hurt. You should ask him right out about it and keep pressing him until he spills." Jiraiya rolled his eyes, knowing just where tactics like that would get him. "When do you want me to start?" Tsunade looked at him with a shrug. "Wait till tomorrow; don't bother him on his birthday." "Very well," Was his unenthused reply.

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Naruto made his way back to the academy and stalked through the halls with a roguish grin on his face. He was hoping to catch Shizune off guard to give her a little scare, pranks always made him happy, it didn't really matter who it was, but he preferred people who wouldn't try to kill him afterwards. Still smiling he didn't find her anywhere; he had disregarded Iruka's office, since he didn't feel like explaining what he was up to. But as he passed his former sensei's office he heard something that made him draw near silently. It didn't sound like someone grading papers, it sounded like two people doing something completely different. Opening the door as silently as he could, he peeked in through a centimeter wide opening and his eyes widened in surprise.

Sitting on the desk was Shizune with her legs out wide and she was passionately kissing Iruka who it seemed was rounding second base at the time, both had pleased smiles on their faces. (3) Naruto quickly jumped back and ran from the door and ran outside the academy as silently as could be managed. Once he made it to the safety of the outdoors he began to laugh as though having eaten laughing poison, the sound of his merriment echoed loudly in the courtyard. 'Oh man, Iruka-sensei's definitely a pervert, but I never thought that Shizune Nee-chan would be so forward.' He thought, finally managing to control himself.

"Well, I guess I'll have to tell her later." He said to the clouds, but he had a devilish grin on his face. "Iruka sensei, you have just given me some good black mail material." Naruto decided it was time he went to see his, self-proclaimed, little brother, and headed off in the direction of the area he had given his first bit of advice to the younger man.

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Naruto found Konohamaru sitting on the log with his elbows on his knees and his head held in his hands. "Oi, Konohamaru, what's wrong?" Naruto asked as he sat down next to his friend. "Wha- Oh, it's nothing, Naruto Nii-san." "Yeah, right, when you're not challenging me to a battle at first sight, I know something is up. So spill it." Naruto was practically in the chuunin's face as he said this.

"Alright, alright, there's this girl I like and I don't know how to approach her to ask her out." He finally said after enduring Naruto's close scrutiny for five minutes. "Just walk up to her and do it." Naruto stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Konohamaru looked at him as though horrified by the idea. "I-I can't!" He said. Naruto stood up and stared down at his friend like an authoritative older brother. "You're the grandson of the Third Hokage! What are you afraid of? Who is this girl"

Konohamaru looked away not really willing to answer the question and the blond sat next to him. "Tell me." Naruto pressed. "I'd rather not." Konohamaru said. "Do you think you're not good enough for her?" Naruto asked. When his young friend didn't answer he went on. "Konohamaru, you're defeating yourself before you even go through with it. You won't know what her answer will be, unless you ask her." The young teen looked over at Naruto, after a moment or two of thought. There was confidence in his eyes where before there had been defeat. "Thanks, Naruto Nii-chan"

Naruto clapped him on the back. "No problem. I happen to know someone who had the same problem you are going through and now they're with the one they love." Konohamaru smirked at him. "Are you talking about yourself?" "No, I never had that problem." Naruto replied truthfully. "Now is there something you want to say to me?" Konohamaru looked at him confused. "Like what?" "Something regarding what happened 19 years ago today?" "Huh?" Konohamaru looked even more perplexed.

Naruto gave up, "My birthday, baka!" He stood up and started walking away. "Anyways you ask her out and worry about what happens later. I'm leaving now." Konohamaru's eyes lit up when he realized what Naruto had been trying to tell him, "Happy Birthday, Nii-chan!" Naruto smiled before jumping off through the tree tops.

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Naruto decided it was time to visit Kakashi, as soon as he had done that, the only people left who he had yet to see were the rest of the Konoha Dozen, except perhaps for Shizune and Teuchi and Ayame, but he knew he would be seeing them later. He had found out about Kakashi's habit of visiting the memorial site, and he had once heard his former sensei talking to someone named Obito while spying on him. He knew he had a good chance of finding him there. As expected he found him standing in front of the memorial, just staring at it, deep in thought.

Naruto stood next to Kakashi looking at the memorial in silence for a few minutes before the silver haired man spoke, not lifting his eyes from the stone. "Good morning, Naruto-dono." "Good morning, Kakashi-dono." Naruto replied also not taking his eyes from the names before him. "Are you asking your friend for some relationship advice?" Naruto probed. Kakashi's uncovered eye widened for a moment before returning to its usual lazy position, "Perhaps. But he wouldn't have anything to say if I did."

Naruto smirked but didn't say anything. 'He sure knows how to pick them. Anko is crazy. She's a nice person, no doubt, but a little off.' He thought thinking of the time he found those two eating dinner together. They had shrugged it off as just getting ready for a mission later that day which would last until the evening of the next day, but Naruto saw both of them the next morning. They weren't together at the time, but Naruto had his suspicions confirmed in catching them in their lie.

Naruto wondered where this conversation could go next. He wasn't going to blatantly bring up his birthday, just to get a wish from Kakashi. That would be childish. So he decided to go with what he needed to say for his peace of mind. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." He said, referring to the other man who considered him at least an equal, with great respect. He was referring to all that Kakashi had taught him in his years as the leader of Team Kakashi. Satisfied with what he said, he began to walk away to leave Kakashi alone with his thoughts. He didn't get far before he heard, "You're welcome, Naruto, and Happy Birthday"

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Discovering he really had no one else to see, Naruto decided that he should go get Hinata, to spend the day with her. He knew that if he was alone he would go crazy from the thoughts that crept in unbidden. Growling to himself he still found that his mind was bringing back long forgotten memories. Naruto watched the other children run to their parents after the school day at the academy. Seeing them share snacks during festivals, which meant they shared memories. He felt again the hate directed at him for so long, for reasons beyond his control.

He had asked the sky many times why he had been left. His caretakers at the orphanage said that his parents went away and left him there. Why had his parents left him? Was he not worthy of their love? The other orphans eventually were adopted, but not him. He was left alone and unloved at the orphanage, until he became old enough to fend for himself on an allowance that the Third gave him; but even then he felt hollow, and his dingy apartment did nothing to alleviate his pain. Naruto had been glad to leave. The caretakers at the orphanage treated him with disdain. They tried not to get attached to the other children as their job called for them to do, but him they didn't care if he ate or not, was properly clothed or not, whether he was happy or not. He felt so empty inside. Would he never know love?

Naruto shook his head, trying to rid himself of these dark thoughts, but they were a part of him as surely as the demon inside him. Things he didn't want, but couldn't get rid of. He found himself a block away from the Hyuuga complex and began to shake loose the kinks that had crept in while he was walking all over Konoha. He readied himself. Infiltrating a place where all the inhabitants can see through the walls was difficult so he'd just have to be faster than any eye could follow. Placing his hands on the ground he brought his right foot back to give him a little more traction to get up to speed quickly. Sticking his rear into the air like a track runner he imagined the starting gun being fired, and sprinted down the street.

To the casual observer, it was as if the blond had disappeared. Naruto jumped over the complex walls and made his way into the largest building. He passed by several Hyuuga who merely felt a light breeze to denote the fact that he had even been there and found himself in Hinata's room where she had just finished putting on a white kimono with an orchid pattern adorning the bottom, after taking a shower. She looked surprised when the door suddenly opened and closed in less than a second, but when she saw a grinning Naruto, a smile couldn't help but bless her soft lips. Naruto saw the used towels next to Hinata, and his grin grew wider, "It looks like I missed the best part." Hinata blushed when she realized what he was talking about.

"You shouldn't be here Naruto-kun." She said softly enough that no one who might be passing by outside could hear, but she was still smiling. She knew he had very sensitive hearing, Naruto heard and walked up to her and embraced her. "Why might that be, Hina-chan?" He asked her before capturing her lips in a kiss, not waiting for an answer. Hinata melted into his embrace, any thought of fake admonishment flown from her mind as she returned the embrace and deepened the kiss.

Naruto broke the kiss and Hinata almost whimpered from the loss, he smiled tenderly at her. Naruto knew that every second he spent standing in her room was a second that could reveal himself to the other Hyuuga and he would have some serious explaining to do as to why he was in Hinata's room or the Hyuuga complex at all. "Meet me in the park in fifteen minutes, you know where." He said as he released her from his grip and disappeared through the window, barely disturbing the sheer curtains that hung to either side.

Hinata activated her Byakuugan to be able to tell if Naruto got out without being seen, which not surprisingly he did. His sneaking abilities were legend around Konoha, finely tuned in his mischievous youth. The heiress thanked the fates she was completely dressed when he came in, she began blushing as she thought about being naked in front of him. She had a present for him later, something he wouldn't expect, but she was sure he would enjoy.

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Naruto slowed down as he got a safe distance from the Hyuuga complex, it was only 10:30 in the morning but he had not seen any of his friends out and about today. Something he found incredibly odd. He put both his hands behind his head and thought about what he could do with Hinata. It was his birthday, but he didn't want today to be all for him. He felt that he was forgetting something; it was his birthday and… their anniversary! He cursed his memory; sometimes he could be so clueless, he had even talked to Iruka about it. He already had plans for a special present for Hinata which she would get later, but he didn't want her to think that he had forgotten about this special day. He decided he needed to get her some flowers to make sure that he didn't hurt her feelings.

The blond shinobi sprinted off towards a certain flower shop owned by a personal friend. He stopped in front of the Yamanaka flower shop and noted a certain other blond inside tending to the necessary chores associated with flower care. "Hey, Ino," Naruto said enthusiastically as he entered the shop. The woman looked up from her sweeping and smiled, "Hey Naruto, I was wondering if I'd see you in here today." "Why is that?" Naruto asked feigning ignorance. Ino's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in annoyance. "Are you telling me you forgot your anniversary?" Naruto grinned slyly, and chuckled. Ino realized that he was messing with her and rolled her eyes.

"So I guess you came here to get some flowers for her?" She asked as she put the broom aside and prepared to put together a bouquet for her friend. Naruto smiled and asked, "How did you guess?" This merely caused Ino to once again roll her eyes. "What do you want to say?" She asked as Naruto went to look around at the different flowers that were placed in buckets filled with water. He didn't answer her question, but stopped in front of a group of red roses. "A half dozen of these," Naruto said before moving on, Ino followed curiously in his wake and chose six of them, "Red roses, symbols of love." Naruto nodded as he continued to walk around the shop before coming to stand in front of white lilies, "Six of these."

Ino claimed six from the bunch and then went to the preparation table and began to arrange them into a bouquet. "White lilies, symbolize purity." She looked at Naruto suspiciously. "You made some good choices. Together, white lilies and red roses, they mean pure love." Naruto smiled, "Hinata taught me their meanings. So she'll know what I'm trying to say." Ino looked surprised, "You actually remembered stuff about flowers? I can't imagine they'd be that interesting to you." "They really aren't that interesting, but I pay attention to everything she says," He replied. (4)

"All done," Ino announced, presenting a beautiful dozen of flowers to Naruto who paid for them and thanked Ino. "I'll see you tonight!" He said as he exited the shop and made his way to the park.

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Leaves were falling heavily today, he guessed that by tomorrow evening most if not all the leaves would have fallen from the trees, marking the change of seasons being earlier than usual this year. He saw Hinata leaning against a familiar tree and crept up to her hiding the bouquet behind his back. He came to a stop under a tall elm and looked up into its branches and a smile that bespoke fond memories formed on his lips. This was the tree under which Hinata had told him that she liked him, and he had told her that he liked her too. Ever since that day, they would meet here whenever they wanted to be together, it wasn't that secret a place but they didn't care. They were often too caught up with the one they were with to care about any audience they might have.

Hinata smiled when a beautiful bouquet of flowers appeared in her face. She had not seen him come up, nor had she heard him. _'He is good.'_ Taking a look at the composition of the arrangement, she practically beamed at the man presenting them, knowing what they meant and that he knew what they meant. "Happy anniversary, Hina-chan," He said. "Thank you so much, Naruto-kun." She said taking the flowers and wrapping the blond in a great hug. Naruto wrapped her in his arms and jumped up into the branches of their tree and set her down on a large branch. He leaned against the tree with his legs draped on either side of the branch they were sitting on.

Hinata sat with both her legs on one side of the branch, in keeping with propriety and since her kimono would not allow anything else, and smelled the flowers Naruto had given her. Naruto, knowing that there were precious few moments like this, grabbed her around the waist and scooted her closer to him. She leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder, glad to be with him. They said nothing, merely letting their mind travel down similar pathways into dear memories and pleasant thoughts as they watched their tree shed its summer coat. Naruto thought about the day she had told him that she liked him. Back then he had merely liked her, but after a year of sharing time and precious memories he had come to love the once timid, shy, dark girl.

Through his love, she had blossomed into a confident, willful, beautiful young woman. She no longer stuttered when she spoke and she spoke loud enough to be heard, all because Naruto had said that he loved the sound of her voice. She now looked him and everyone else in the eye, because he told her she had beautiful eyes and shouldn't be afraid to show them to the world. It was his belief in her that gave her confidence she had lacked for many years, it was that confidence that allowed her to achieve the rank of jounin last year. Due to the fact that she finally had her love requited and spent time with him, she no longer blushed, well not as much. She would still turn pink if he ever displayed affection for her in front of their friends or anyone else for that matter, but she was not embarrassed about her feelings for him, despite the fact that she had not yet told her father, Hiashi, about their relationship.

It wasn't that she was afraid of her father, but that she was more afraid of what he might do to Naruto, or at least, try to do. She still respected her father; he had apologized to her for his cold treatment of her over the years, citing his desire to make her a worthy heir to the position of clan leader. She could understand that, and beneath it all she suspected that he loved her and wanted what was best for her. She just wished he would show it more often.

She guessed that he had to keep a certain image about himself as the clan leader. Hinata did not want the duty as heir; it was something she would rather let Hanabi assume control of as she at least seemed interested in the position. But, since she had finally shown promise, achieving the rank of jounin and her confidence in herself at an all time high, Hiashi had decided that she would succeed him. Hinata did not relish the idea of hiding behind a mask of cold indifference for the rest of her life. She also felt little loyalty to her clan, especially because of the way she had been brought up.

Her father had begun to change the Hyuuga clan for the better and would leave it to her to continue on with his vision for the future of the clan. He had passed on his dream to his daughters, hoping that what had happened between him and his brother would not repeat itself. The change he envisioned seemed like a great idea, but Hinata was unsure if she could pull it off, and she had confided as much to Naruto. He had confidence in her abilities, but all she wanted was to live a peaceful life with him. She well knew how much politics was involved in the lives of all Hyuuga, but it was especially burdensome for the clan leader. There were times when she could literally feel how stressed her father was, and she wanted to avoid that if she could.

Hinata settled deeper in Naruto's embrace and enjoyed the smell of the flowers he had bought for her. Her face fell somewhat when she thought of another duty she had to fulfill for the clan, a duty she had not told Naruto about. She would have to be married before or by her twentieth birthday, which was a little over a year away. She wondered how to get her father to accept Naruto as a suitor. She knew, regardless of her biased viewpoint, that he was a man worthy enough to be any woman's husband. She smiled to herself, thinking how blessed she was, that he would choose to love her. There was any number of women in the village who would do anything to be her. He had grown up to be both powerful and handsome.

While Naruto still bubbled over with his boundless energy, he was no longer a loud mouth, though he still had no trouble expressing himself, at least when it wasn't a personal matter. He had never told her he loved her, but she knew the truth of his heart, and it was his actions that told her all she needed to know. Through her influence on him he had learned manners, to a point; he chose when he would follow the rules of propriety. Though, he only did this with those who were close to him, those who would forgive him; the rest of the world saw a tall, handsome, well-mannered man. He had also learned some culture, evidenced by his knowledge of the language of flowers; he was no longer the uncouth brat that most of the village had hated for the entirety of his life.

There was still the fact that Naruto was the container of the Kyuubi. He had told most of the Konoha eleven on his seventeenth birthday and Hinata's reaction, much like the rest of team eight, team ten, and Team Guy; was to be outraged at the other villagers and to feel great sadness for him. Each of them had told him that night that he was their friend first and foremost and that was all that really mattered. His eyes had held such joy that she had never seen in them before that day, and he thanked them all bowing his head, refusing to let them see the tears he couldn't stop from shedding.

Hinata had returned home happy that he trusted her with this secret even if he had shared it with several other people, it mean that she was one of his precious people. But she also held within her sadness for the pain he had endured, pain she knew all too well, pain she could have alleviated. Now there was also an emotion within her breast that she had not experienced before, anger. Then there was disappointment, not in herself, but in the other villagers. She now had a new reason to resent her father; he had been like everyone else in the village and ostracized Naruto. It just was not fair to blame him for things beyond his control.

Naruto looked at his watch, it read 11:40; he had been daydreaming again. He kissed Hinata on the crown of her head to get her attention, which seemed to be somewhere else entirely. When she looked up at him he kissed the tip of her nose, which she wrinkled cutely because it tickled. "Let's go get some lunch." He suggested. "Ano, I'd rather stay right here." She replied snuggling closer to him, but then she blushed as her stomach let out a magnificent rumble. "I think your stomach is disagreeing with you," Naruto said chuckling. Hinata looked down at her abdomen as though betrayed, but sighed and dropped to the ground using chakra to break the fall and Naruto landed lightly next to her shortly after.

"Where are we going?" Hinata asked, hoping it wasn't far away. "Ichiraku's, Iruka is treating me for my birthday, and you too if I can swing it." He replied, with a devious grin. Hinata raised an eyebrow, "What do you know?" Naruto immediately wiped the devious aspect of his grin away and said, "Nothing." Hinata giggled at that answer, and after he thought about it for a moment Naruto laughed as well. They began to walk toward their destination side by side, wanting to hold the hand of the other, but at least trying to keep their relationship a secret. It was known as fact by the rest of the Konoha Dozen and merely in rumor for the rest of the village. Eventually desire overcame common sense and they walked hand-in-hand to Naruto's favorite restaurant.

They arrived at the ramen shop and ducked under the short curtain. "Hey, Ayame Nee-chan. Hey, Teuchi San," Naruto said announcing their presence. "Aha, if it isn't my number one customer, oh, and with a date I see." The middle aged man behind the counter said with a wide smile, Ayame looked at a blushing Hinata and giggled. Naruto's grin matched the man's, "Yes, it is." "So what will you have?" Ayame asked not wasting any time. "Nothing yet, we're waiting on Iruka to come, he's treating me." Teuchi perked up. "Did something special happen that I haven't heard about?" He asked, eyeing Hinata and her bouquet of flowers, "Perhaps an engagement"

The pearl eyed woman immediately blushed, but Naruto denied it. "Nothing like that, it's my birthday." Naruto leaned forward motioning for Ayame and Teuchi to come closer. "Also, it is our anniversary." He whispered indicating Hinata. Ayame looked surprised at Naruto as well as a little hurt. "A year has gone by and you didn't think to introduce her to us? Aren't we like family?" She asked. Naruto averted his eyes to the counter, "You'll understand when I say I wanted to keep it as secret as possible, considering who her father is." The father and daughter looked at the blond then each other and nodded sagely, "We'll forgive you"

Naruto flashed them his famous grin in thanks. "Well I thought there was something special about this day." Teuchi said with a smile. "Your first bowls are on me today." "Nah, don't do that, pretend you don't know and you can make some money off of your second best customer." Naruto said winking at the shop owner, who returned it with a chuckle.

They waited a few minutes before Iruka walked in with a smile on his face, almost exactly at noon, "Hey Naruto. Hello Hinata. It looks like you were speaking the truth earlier Naruto." "Yup, I was wondering if you would like to pay for Hinata's meal as well." Naruto said. Iruka frowned at him. "Naruto, if this is supposed to be a date, you should pay for Hinata's meal." The blond turned to where Hinata could not see his face and grinned at his former sensei. Iruka's frown disappeared to be replaced by a look of confusion. "What is it?"

"Did you finish grading those tests?" Naruto asked his grin turning into a knowing smirk, Hinata looked on with interest. Seeing this, Iruka looked even more confused before realization dawned in his eyes, and he paled visibly. "Umm, yes I did." He said, obviously unnerved as he sat down next to the jounin. Naruto leaned over and whispered. "Wouldn't you like to pay for Hinata's meal as well?" It wasn't a question, more like a strong suggestion.

"You know what, since it is your anniversary, I'll pay for both your meals." Iruka declared. Naruto grinned in triumph before ordering beef ramen for himself and miso for Hinata, with a wink to Teuchi. "So, Naruto, do you have any special plans for this year?" Iruka asked trying to calm himself in his bowl of pork ramen. Naruto jerked suddenly and started choking on his ramen, before Iruka slapped him hard on the back clearing his throat, and allowing him to breathe. "Are you okay"

Naruto gulped air greedily as Hinata rubbed his back soothingly. "Yeah, I'm fine, and no I don't have anything special planned for this year. Why would I?" He asked. "No reason in particular." Iruka said looking from Naruto to Hinata with a small smile on his lips. "I just thought that it is best to get married and have children when you're young." Suddenly both of the two young shinobi were blushing so bad one could feel the heat coming off of them.

Teuchi and Ayame looked at the pair and then each other and chuckled, while Iruka grinned triumphantly at his successful revenge on Naruto. Calming himself Naruto turned to Iruka, "I don't have anything like that planned." He didn't see Hinata become a little glum at his words, but when he turned back he saw a smiling Hinata so he had no reason to worry. They finished their meal without further incident and parted ways with their former teacher, after many thanks for his generosity which elicited an eye twitch, and numerous compliments on the food.

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(1) This was in chapter one (again I was rushed) In Japan the legal drinking age is 20. I wish I could visit because I would already be legal there. (Germany's is even earlier)

(2) This was in chapter one. The level of technology in Naruto seems incredibly ambiguous to me. They have combustion engines, closed circuit tv, sophisticated short range radios, and computers. But there has yet to be an appearance of a gun in the show so I'm guessing it is roughly equivalent to our technology level except in the area of military technology.

(3) For those who do not know, second base means he was copping a feel on Shizune.

(4) I used the Victorian language of the flowers even though Japan has its own. I just couldn't find any site that had it.

There is chapter two. I hope you enjoyed. As always reviews are appreciated.


	3. Troubling News

Quite frankly I'm surprised at the number of hits I've gotten on this story, and compared to the number of reviews there's something incredibly lacking. As of the moment I posted this chapter it is a ratio of 1:204 (roughly) I hope you are all enjoying the story, but I'd like to hear from you and get a feel for how I am doing.

Disclaimer can be found in chapter one.

Characters may seem OoC, but consider the fact that time changes all things, and characters who do not grow or better themselves over time are stagnant and not that well thought out.

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They decided that the flowers should be put into a vase so they headed towards Hinata's home. She left Naruto down the street and hurried inside avoiding everyone. Coming into her room she took a vase from a shelf she filled it with water from her personal bathroom before arranging it on her bedside table. She admired her gift from Naruto and checked the drawer of the table to find that her birthday present for Naruto was still where she had hidden it. She then left the estate and found Naruto kicking the dirt absentmindedly as he leaned against the wall where she had left him.

She stood directly in front of him, but it was as though he couldn't see, his mind was so far away. She smiled deviously and slowly reached her hands towards him before digging her fingers into his ribcage tickling him mercilessly. Naruto laughed uncontrollably but managed to fend off Hinata's fingers and regain his composure. He intertwined his fingers with hers and led her off outside the village into the surrounding forest for a walk to avoid any unnecessary attention. Together they strolled beneath the great trees that surrounded Konoha. Numerous leaves fell all around them, occasionally landing on the pair only to be torn away again by the breeze. They talked of good times and pleasant memories under the fitful shade of autumn trees.

A chill wind caused Hinata to cling to Naruto for extra warmth and he wrapped an arm around her to protect her from the cold. He wondered fleetingly, if it was a cold front that had just passed through, but he lost himself as he watched the wind play tag with the leaves.

"Naruto-kun, what were you thinking about back in the village before I tickled you?" Hinata asked as they sat to rest beside a stream. Naruto draped his right arm around her waist as he leaned his head atop hers. "I dunno; I kind of spaced back there." He said trying to avoid the real answer, which was what he planned to do that evening after the party. _'Why do you always act so strong Naruto-kun? I know you are hurting inside. Why won't you tell me what is bothering you?'_ Hinata thought as she laced the fingers of her hand with Naruto's.

Naruto on the other hand wasn't thinking about much beyond how happy he was to spend time with Hinata, and he watched multicolored leaves flowing by on the stream surface. He sighed. "Moments like these are rare, aren't they?" He asked quietly. "Hai." Hinata responded just as quietly. "It is a shame they can't last forever." He said with a profound sadness in his voice. Hinata tightened her grip on Naruto's hand. "What is wrong Naruto-kun?" She asked, concerned.

"I wish things could be like this forever, but as time passes all things change." Naruto said staring into the depths of the water. Hinata looked up at him, "What's changing?" He turned to look into her eyes, "Everything. That is the nature of the world. Even our relationship is changing. Right now it seems so simple, but looking into the future, I'm not sure what it will become." She wondered if he was thinking of marriage and children like Iruka had hinted at back at Ichiraku, as she searched his clear blue eyes for clues. Naturally, she began to blush. It was her fondest wish.

Naruto smiled at her. "As always you're cute when you blush." He said before kissing her. When he broke the kiss he looked to the sky, the sun was halfway to the horizon from its position at noon. He decided that it was time he finished his errands. "It is getting late and I have a few things I need to do before the party." He said as he stood up and offered his hand to Hinata to help her up. Once she was on her feet she put her arm through Naruto's and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll help you." She said after they had been on the journey back to the village for a little while. "That won't be necessary. Besides I have to go get your anniversary present and wouldn't want to ruin the surprise," He said as the gates came in sight in the distance.

Hinata looked shocked. "Naru-kun you didn't need to get me anything other than those flowers." She protested. "There's no need for that Hina-chan. I got this present for you for no other reason than because you are my most precious person." Naruto said with a chuckle. Hinata sighed exasperatedly. _'So close! He almost said it!'_ "Aw don't be like that Hina-chan." Naruto said. "This is our anniversary; I want you to be happy." He stuck his lower lip out and made puppy dog eyes at her. Hinata looked at his expression and giggled, making him break out into a huge grin. "That's more like it!"

They arrived at the gates of Konoha and parted ways saying to each other, "See you at six!"

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Naruto walked down one of Konoha's main streets wondering which of his final errands he should do first. He needed to get Hinata's present, go get snacks for the party, perhaps a movie or two as well, and he still needed to thank Shizune. He decided to go get the items for the party first so he could prove Sasuke wrong.

After about forty-five minutes of going from one store to another Naruto was laden with several bags of snacks, including double the amount of chips he really thought he needed since Chouji would be there. He had also bought two movies, one action and the other horror. He now decided to head to the more specialized shop district of Konoha to pick up a special something.

Still carrying the grocery bags Naruto entered a rather nondescript little shop that had a hanging sign outside that read "Jeweler." The store was dim and dust motes floated in the shaft of sunlight allowed entrance through a window, but within glass cases, jewelry of all sorts gleamed in the light streaming through the window. Naruto passed by gold and silver pieces and stopped to look at a good number of unset and uncut stones. Placing his purchases on the counter he went to a door on the back wall through which came the only light in the entire shop. The store wasn't closed that was just how its owner preferred things, once he had explained that if a jewel couldn't sparkle in adverse conditions, then it wasn't worth the gold it was mounted on.

Naruto stood in the doorway and watched an old man at a work bench, totally engrossed in his work. Carefully he twisted precious metals into intricate designs that would complement the chosen stone perfectly. Naruto knew better than to disturb the old man while he was at work because the most miniscule imperfection would have him grumbling for hours on end as he redid the entire piece. It was several minutes before the jeweler stopped working and leaned back into his work chair, and away from the powerful magnifying glass that he had been using to aid his sight. He sighed and wiped his sweat covered brow and began rubbing his hands to soothe the pain, before noticing he had a customer.

"Welcome, Naruto. How are you today?" He asked as he stood to greet the blond. "I am tired, but beyond that, quite well." Naruto replied as he shook the old man's hand. "How are you today Master Gin?" "Eh? Drop the master would you? It has been a long time since anyone counted my skills worthy of the title, especially with my arthritis acting up," He said frowning at the young man before him. Naruto smiled at Gin, "I trusted your abilities, didn't I? Does that count for nothing?" He asked. Gin waved at him in fake annoyance, "What would you know about jewelry? You are an upstart youngster." Naruto sighed, shaking his head bemusedly, and decided to get down to business. "Do you have what I requested?" He asked the jeweler who had begun to dust the nearest glass case of his wares with a cloth that apparently was washed at least weekly. This shop may be dark and quiet but it was impeccably clean, probably because its owner had little better to do.

"What do you take me for? One of those bargain chain jewelry stores whose pieces are overpriced and lack originality and soul?" Naruto shook his head to appease the clearly irritated elder. Jewelry was a matter of pride to this man, and that is why Naruto chose him for this most important item. Gin had made his way back to the back room all the while grumbling about the world's many injustices to artists. Now he returned from his foray carrying a wide blue velvet lined box, which had kept closed so Naruto would get the enjoyment of opening it. Placing a desk lamp onto the counter he turned it on to let the piece truly shine. He had enjoyed doing this, simple though it was, and watched expectantly as Naruto opened the box.

In the soft light of the lamp; seeming a glaring protest to the gloom about them, glittered a silver pendant on a silver chain. Against the background of midnight blue the precious metal gleamed all the more brilliantly, as Naruto marveled at the craftsmanship. The pendant was a quarter-sized and thick, circle with a spiral engraved onto the front while the back was as a mirror. Naruto tried to find a beginning and end to the engraving, but his eyes just followed the curving lines endlessly, almost hypnotizing him within its depths. It was on a fine silver chain, dainty but strong as he tested its give. He continued to admire the necklace until Gin spoke. "You got quite the creative mind, young man. If you had proper training I'm sure you would be as successful as I had once been. Your ideas and input were invaluable for creating such a thing of simplistic beauty." Naruto knew this was high praise from a man once lauded as a master smith. He also knew that he was glad he remembered today was his anniversary earlier, otherwise he would have forgotten to come to get the necklace, he had become so absentminded as of late.

"Now, about your payment," Naruto began as he took out a dilapidated Gama-chan and acquired a fairly large sum of money from the wallet and presented it to Gin. "I believe this was the agreed amount." Gin held out his hand, but not to take the money; rather, it was as though he was refusing it, which confused the shinobi. "I'll take only three quarters of what I originally asked, since you helped out so much and because I enjoyed doing it."

Naruto's jaw dropped for a moment before returning to its customary position. "But I wouldn't feel right about going back on our agreement," He argued, frowning at the necklace. "A commissioned artist reserves the right to raise or lower his price, so long as there is good cause," Gin argued back. "For some reason I know that this necklace holds a special significance for you. Now, only three-quarters of the agreed price," Gin said, when Naruto went silent, and held out his hand. Even at only seventy-five percent the original price it was still a hefty sum, and Naruto counted it out to make sure he had the right amount, because he had taken it out of his account as a lump sum and kept it separate from his pocket money so he wouldn't have to bother.

When he finished, Gin pushed the now closed box towards Naruto with a smile, who accepted it with a smile to match and he placed the box in one of the grocery bags before loading up. Gin stashed the money in a lock box before rushing to the door to open it for Naruto who was going to nudge it open with the toe of his sandal. "A pleasure doing business with you," He said to send off the blond who had become his favorite customer if not his best.

Naruto decided that he should drop his purchases off at his apartment before going to see Shizune as he didn't want to haul it all around Konoha or to have people asking what he had and sneaking looks inside. He walked home acknowledging greetings with a nod of his head. When he got home he put the perishable items in the fridge and the rest on the counter. He took the necklace box into his room and hid it beneath his chest of drawers due to the fact that it was highly unlikely that anyone would be in a position to see it. Naruto strictly forbade the more amorous of his friends from entering his room, which surprisingly, were Neji and Tenten.

Satisfied with his hiding place he left the apartment, locking the door behind him and heading to the Hokage tower.

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Entering, as was his custom, unannounced, Naruto immediately went to Shizune and gave her a hug. "Thanks for the present, Nee-chan." He heard a groaning coming from the Hokage's direction and looked over at her. "Naruto, you could try knocking one of these days," She said rubbing her temples. "How would you know it was me then?" He asked. "When I look at you fool." Then she looked as though she had remembered something previously forgotten. "We can continue this later. I need to speak with him right now," Tsunade said to her two guests, who were the Third's two former teammates; they got up shaking their heads in amusement at Naruto. He managed to be able to get on anyone's good side somehow, even some of the most serious people he had ever met. He had not really noticed their presence as he had been focused on completing his errands so he could get back to his house to be ready for Hinata, but he was curious as to what Tsunade needed to speak to him about.

Tsunade motioned for him to sit, which he did, lounging as though he had all the time in the world. The Hokage looked him up and down, he was taller than her and had been for a while topping out at around six feet. He was lithe and strong thanks to the constant training he endured when it wasn't a special day like today. He had come to resemble the Fourth almost as if they were brothers, growing his hair out to a few inches longer than he had when he was younger.

But it wasn't his physical growth that concerned her but more his maturation, his mental and emotional growth. He had changed for the better ever since he started dating Hinata, learning how to behave in proper situations, coming to analyze a situation before acting, showing prudence in his choices. He had grown in battle prowess as well; she believed that he was stronger that she had been in her prime much like his two teammates.

"You have grown up, Naruto," Tsunade said suddenly, stopping Naruto's bouncing leg and catching his attention which had been fixed on the wood grain of the front of her desk. "Yes, time tends to do that to people," he replied nonchalantly. "Do you hold the wellbeing of the village foremost in your heart?" Tsunade asked, drawing a curious look from Shizune. Naruto himself looked in turmoil as he thought about the question and its implications. "Well, I love this village. It is my home and all my precious people live here, but as far as foremost in my heart, Hinata has that place reserved," he said, a slight blush bedecking his cheeks. "But I will protect this village with my life to keep her safe, to keep all my friends safe."

Tsunade decided that was proof enough that he was the right choice. "Then you will be glad to hear that I have decided that you will become the Sixth Hokage!" She announced happily which caused Shizune to beam at Naruto. But his reaction was far from what either of them had expected. Instead of jumping up and down or giving a shout of triumph, he frowned and his eyes grew dark as though he had been told he had a terminal disease, his expression was one of great pain. "What is wrong, Naruto?" Tsunade asked concerned, as she stood up to come around her desk to kneel before him so she could look in his eyes. "Aren't you happy? I thought this would be great news, especially on your birthday."

Naruto gained control of himself and forced a grin onto his reluctant lips. "Of course I'm happy. My dream has finally come true. I'll tell my friends at the party." He said, the cheerful sound of his voice contradicting how he felt inside. "I just forgot to get Hinata an anniversary gift." He lied, trying to cover his blunder. Tsunade seemed to buy it, "Well I think Ino's shop is still open, if you hurry you can get her a bouquet. But I can't believe you forgot. It's on your birthday." She said with a heavy sigh. "Yeah I know," he said as he got up and hugged Tsunade in thanks and gave another hug to Shizune before he left.

When the door closed behind him Tsunade stood and went to the window and looked out over the village. "Did you see his face when I told him about my decision?" Tsunade asked Shizune. "Hai, I thought that the news would please him to know end, but he looked upset." She replied. "It wasn't a ploy to make him happy. He knows I wouldn't kid about this," Tsunade said with a sigh. "You heard him lie to my face right then didn't you?" She asked her assistant. Shizune frowned, "Hai." Tsunade went and dropped heavily into her chair, "What could be bothering him that achieving his dream would actually cause him pain?" She asked the heavens as much as Shizune, who merely shook her head, unable to answer her mentor's question. The blonde Hokage called one of her ANBU guards, "Tell the captain that I need one ANBU member to keep a watch over Naruto tonight," pausing she added almost as an afterthought, "discreetly."

"Hai" was all the response she got as the guard disappeared to do her bidding. Tsunade decided it was the best she could do given that Jiraiya was off, only the spirits knew where, drinking and womanizing. Shizune spoke up then, "Do you think he might be planning to do something foolish?" Tsunade glanced at her and then her gaze turned to the top of her desk, "I don't know. But I do know that I miss the old Naruto." The Hokage placed her elbows on the desk and supported her head in her hands closing her eyes. _'Are you too proud to ask to help when it is so obvious you need it?'_

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"DAMNIT!" Naruto cursed as soon as he was out of yelling distance from the tower. Why did fate have to kick him in the teeth at every turn? Always it was that whenever something good came along, something bad would take it away or cancel it out. Naruto knew that he couldn't host a party in his current state. He needed to vent his frustration out on something, preferably something that wasn't alive. He wanted, to the depths of his soul, to deny that that he heard her say those damning words. He sped out of the village and into the surrounding forests to find someplace where he could be alone.

He stopped in a small clearing, the shafts of light from the setting sun striking deep beneath the canopy of the forest. Amongst the trees he found a boulder, which caught his attention and began to receive punishment as though it had forced this pain on the young shinobi. Naruto punched endlessly into the unforgiving hide of the large stone. At first all it did was cause him pain as his hands suffered the continuous blows and the skin on his knuckles split, he lost himself in the pain. But then cracks began to spider web out from the point of impact as he always hit the same exact spot.

He renewed his assault on the boulder aiming to destroy it leaving trails of blood to flow down the cracks and down the as yet unbroken side of the boulder. He accentuated each punch with a "Damn it!" His voice began as a low growl, but as the cracks grew, so did his litany against the injustices the world had forced upon him crescendo. When the boulder finally succumbed to his relentless attacks and crumbled into numerous pieces, his voice had become a shout. He continued to pound away at the ground pulverizing the rock and making the trees shake at his fury, as his cries echoed in the deepening gloom of the forest.

When he had finally decided that he was done he was standing in a small crater, panting from his efforts and his hands were two bloody messes. The rock shards all around him were stained crimson with his blood, which caused him to turn his attention to his hands, which seemed to cry out in pain with each heartbeat. He smiled in grim satisfaction at the sight of his hands and the destruction they had wrought. Soon, however, he was grimacing as his wounds began to mend before his eyes and he wanted to continue to punish some other inanimate object, if only to forget where he was, why he was doing it, or even who he was.

He fell to his knees, wondering at the futility of it all; his eyes directed, yet unfocused, at the pastel sky he could see through the tree branches. His heart told him to shed tears at the unfairness of it all, but he refused to listen; he would never cry again. He wanted to tell them, wanted to tell them all what was wrong, but he knew they could do nothing for him. He knew that his time would soon come and he wanted to spare them all from the pain of seeing him at that moment. That is why he had decided on his course, his head dropped into his hands as his mind put all their faces into a parade for him, finally ending with Hinata. He wished he could spend more time with her, to make up for years of ignorance, years of unbearable loneliness for the both of them.

Taking his hands from his eyes, which were puffy despite the fact he had not cried, he looked at his watch. He cursed under his breath when he realized he had spent too much time out here letting his emotions run their course. It was 5:45pm and he need to be at his apartment to greet Hinata when she came over. His wounds were healed, but his hands were still covered with his blood. He sped towards the village stopping at a stream to rinse his hands clean and splash some water on his face to try to smooth his emotions out. He sprinted the rest of the way home, passing by other villagers as they collected their children for the evening not noticing the shinobi speed by. Luckily, he made it home before Hinata had arrived and rubbed the layer of sweat he had gained off with a towel.

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There you have chapter three. If you are reading this then you have finished reading the chapter and are in a position to tell me what you think, any criticism on where I can improve or something I'm not making clear would be appreciated. (Mind you somethings are left ambiguous for a reason)


	4. The Party and Hinata's Gift

Sorry about not warning you beforehand about the cussing in the last chapter.

This is the last part of chapter one and there is a fair amount that will happen in these last six hours of this day. I hope you will enjoy.

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A few moments of waiting passed while he caught his breath and there was a light knock at the door. He opened it to reveal Hinata in her customary outfit her dark capris disappearing beneath the oversized jacket she always wore. "Hey there," he said enthusiastically sweeping her inside and giving her a great hug which lifted her feet off the floor as he kicked the door closed. He wanted to hold on to her and never let go. She wished she could return the embrace, but he had trapped her arms at her side. "It is good to see you too, Naruto-kun." She squeaked out as her lungs were being compressed.

Naruto immediately loosened his grip and set her back on the floor, but he hooked his arms around her neck burying his face in her shoulder. "Is there something wrong, Naru-kun?" She asked as she snaked her arms around him and wondered where this display of emotion was coming from. The blonde retreated a little and looked into her eyes, "Just making up for lost time." He whispered as he brushed a streak of long black hair from her face. She smiled at him knowing what he meant.

He felt something other than a pair of hands at his back and looked down over his shoulder to get a look at it. It looked like a present, but Hinata realized what he was looking at and what he was likely to do and jumped back as Naruto made a grab for the metallic green wrapped box. Naruto leaned forward to get a closer look, "What do we have here?" But Hinata immediately shifted it behind her back, "You'll have to wait to find out," She said teasingly.

Naruto turned away in a huff, crossing his arms over his chest and declaring rather loudly, "No fair!" Hinata giggled at his antics and stood on her toes so that she could give him a peck on the cheek, "Will that do for now?" Naruto opened his eyes and grinned slyly at her. "I suppose, but you'll have to take that jacket off." Hinata blushed furiously, "Naruto-kun!" The blonde liked seeing her figure and wasn't shy about that fact, but she didn't like to show even that much of herself to anyone but him. "O-okay, but I'm putting it back on once the others show up," She conceded as she went to his room where she left her jacket on his bed. Naruto called down the hall to her, "I know it's cool outside, but it's warm in here, I don't think that it would be too comfortable wearing that thing."

When she returned she was wearing a V-neck tee that clung to her body quite nicely. When Naruto saw he let out a low approving whistle and resolved that he needed to hide her jacket. Hinata, meanwhile, blushed lightly as she went into the kitchen. "Naruto-kun we need to get ready for the party," She called to her boyfriend who was savoring the image that was before him. Shaking his head, he managed to gain full control of himself and moved to help her; he was the one hosting the party after all.

They got large bowls out for the different chips and managed to find plates of varying sizes to hold the other snacks. Naruto had bought disposable cups and plates as he didn't have enough for thirteen people; he'd never really needed to until now. He had also gotten sodas for the party, which were already in the fridge, but he put a metal teapot on the stove, ready to boil once everyone arrived, in case they'd rather have tea.

There was thirty minutes of free time before everyone would show up so Naruto decided to freshen up. He took a shower while Hinata turned on the television to pass the time. When Naruto got out of the shower he went straight to his room, but when he opened the bathroom door Hinata looked up in time to see him clad only in a towel, which he held up as he walked down the hall to his room. She blushed at seeing so much of her boyfriend, though if she wanted to she could see even more, but merely resolved to herself that her decision was right.

She was building up the courage she would need later while Naruto got dressed and was so focused on that that Naruto easily snuck up behind her and threw his arms around her, startling the Hyuuga. She immediately recognized his familiar scent as she had noted it when they were close together, which was quite often, and relaxed in his embrace. "What were you thinking about, koibito?" Hinata blushed fit to put a sunset to shame. "N-nothing," She stuttered, making Naruto look at her in surprise, she almost never stuttered anymore so something was up, but he let it go as he sat down next to her to watch the news. He had missed the weather, but there were a few things of interest going on in the rest of the country. (1)

It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door and Naruto went to answer it while Hinata bolted for his bedroom. At the entrance to his apartment were his two teammates Sakura and Sasuke, both carrying presents for their friend, though Sasuke's wasn't really wrapped merely a lidded cardboard box held closed by string, while Sakura's was flamboyantly decorated, so much so it was hard to look directly at. "Hey guys, come on in," he looked at the Med Nin, "I'm surprised that you didn't just walk on in without bothering to knock like usual Sakura." Sakura narrowed her eyes, "What are you trying to say? I could take my present back home, I'm sure I could find someone who wants it." Naruto waved his hands to ward off her glare and her doubts. "Nothing," He said with a chuckle.

The former Team Seven heard some noise coming from Naruto's room and a frantic voice repeating, "Where is it?" over and over. Naruto grinned deviously to himself, "You guys make yourselves comfortable," and without further word, he jogged to his bedroom. When he got there he found his formerly neat and tidy room was now a mess of clothes tossed every which way. Hinata was looking through his closet at the time, and Naruto watched her make a further mess as he leaned on the door jamb. He was just glad she hadn't turned over his chest of drawers. He cleared his throat drawing her attention to him. "Where did you put it?"

Naruto feigned ignorance, "Put what?" Hinata went up to him pleading, "My jacket!" Naruto went with the truth, though it really wasn't as big a deal as he let on, "Oh that, I saw a stain on it and put it in the wash." Sure enough Hinata heard the washing machine running, and looked quite dejected. "Come on, it's a party you should be happy and having a good time. Let's go back to the living room. Sakura and Sasuke are here but you are better at hosting parties than I am." He said drawing her to him and out into the hall away from her near discovery, Hinata sighed. The blond squeezed her closer to him and whispered in her ear, "You are beautiful; you shouldn't be ashamed of how you look." She smiled up at him in appreciation of his words and they entered the living room and an awkward silence.

Sasuke and Sakura were sitting next to each other looking a little uncomfortable, Naruto noticed, and he went to the stereo to put some music on to lighten the tense atmosphere. "Hey guys, help yourselves to the food. By the way, I bought two movies; the choice is action or horror, you decide before the time comes what you want to watch." Sasuke saw Hinata head to the kitchen to prepare some tea and his eyes widened and jaw dropped a little in surprise. Sakura, completely oblivious to Sasuke's reaction to the Hyuuga, decided to get some snacks and tea; though they were friends and teammates, Sasuke wasn't much of a conversationalist.

Sasuke caught Naruto's gaze with his own and gave the blonde a sly smirk, "When it rains it pours, eh Naruto?" He asked, indicating Hinata and her well proportioned self; Naruto laughed bitterly not realizing what he was talking about. "You said it." His eyes were unfocused as he thought about all that had occurred this day, and all that had yet to occur. His dark haired friend raised an eyebrow at that sentence, "What is on your mind?" Naruto found himself in a bind trying to come up with a convincing lie on the fly, "Ano." There was a knock at the door and Naruto immediately went to answer it. (2)

"Coming," he yelled. _'You saved me whoever you are!'_ He thought as he opened the door revealing Shino and Kiba, one smiling, the other impassive as ever, and the ever faithful Akamaru was squatting on the ground between them panting with his tongue hanging out to the left. "Hey Naruto, don't listen to Shino when he tries to explain why we're late, it's a pack of lies," Kiba whispered conspiratorially to the blonde, Shino merely raised an eyebrow indicating that he had probably heard the exchange. "Nah, you guys aren't late. Come on in," Naruto said smiling, he attempted to close the door, but a foot barred the way. "You're just going to shut the door in our faces? How rude," He recognized Ino's loud voice and reopened the door, to reveal Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru and Temari. "Oh hey guys, I didn't know you were there, come in and make yourselves comfortable like you always do," he turned to Chouji, "I bought extra chips, so have at, Chouji."

The large man's eyes lit up with pleasure, "Thanks, Naruto!" He immediately went to the kitchen to acquire a bowl of chips all for himself. Naruto noticed he was carrying two packages, one significantly larger than the other. Shikamaru Temari sat down close together on one of the couches; they were already married for a year now. Naruto had been one of Shikamaru's groomsmen along with Kiba; Chouji naturally had been his best man. For now they just seemed to be getting the hang of living together, so there weren't any plans for a child as of yet. When asked about it, Shikamaru replied that just the thought of a child was troublesome, but then his eyes would become unfocused and a small smile would appear on his lips, so perhaps he just made a show, though he truly wanted children.

Ino sat next to Sakura and started a conversation with her and Hinata about their work at the hospital; Kiba and Chouji talked animatedly to Shikamaru who was listening to them and the whispers that Temari was placing in his ears; Shino and Sasuke seemed to be having a silence contest amidst all the chatter and background music.

Naruto was about to close the door again, when he heard someone running and then those footsteps disappearing as probably the same someone shouted, "Dynamic Entry!" and opened the door all the way and stepping to the side to allow a green blur to fly through the doorway. Lee seemed to have been trying to kick his door down. "You know, Lee, if you had broken my door you would have had to pay for it," Naruto said shaking his head with a bemused smile. "Well you know him, he's even more excitable than you," Tenten said as she stepped through the portal leading Neji by the hand. Neji nodded to Naruto with the barest hint of a smile, but a frown soon replaced it when he saw what Hinata was wearing. Naruto followed his gaze and sighed, as he saw Kiba wipe a trickle of blood from his nose, knowing the cause.

He decided that his joke had run its course and closed the door before walking up behind Hinata to whisper in her ear, "Maybe you should put one of my shirts on over that." Hinata looked at him with sincere gratitude, she hadn't thought of asking to do that, and went to his room to do as he suggested. Naruto meanwhile, went to get something to eat and sat down and watched his friends enjoy themselves. Hinata returned and sat in a chair next to him and Naruto knew he should make an announcement now that everyone was here. "Well everyone, you have a choice between a horror and action movie which will begin at 8:00 so let's vote, all for action?" He asked holding up the two DVD's. Most of the guys held up their hands, Chouji didn't but he may not have heard. Naruto like Shikamaru was going with what his significant other would choose.

"You couldn't have chosen something else, Naruto?" Sakura and Ino asked simultaneously. Naruto narrowed his eyes at them, "It's my birthday so the choice was mine to make. I chose to give you an option, now, all for horror?" Naruto asked, noting the hands that went up. Despite the number of guys being larger than girls, the vote swung in favor of horror so Naruto popped the DVD into the player. He turned around and found Sakura standing before him, "Go sit down Naruto, we have to get some things taken care of before the movie starts." He did as directed as she and Ino went to the kitchen, sitting at the end of the coffee table, he wondered what was up as he waited for something to happen.

The room went dark and from the kitchen approached Sakura and Ino bearing a cake with nineteen lit candles. Naruto let out an embarrassed laugh, "You guys didn't need to do all this," he said trying to dismiss the feelings welling up inside him. Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck, "We did this because we wanted to and because we know that you never had a birthday cake before." Naruto's eyes shone with such happiness and such unequivocal joy so much so that it masked the intense sadness that threatened to crush him then and there if the love and friendship he felt around him wasn't staving it off. He was a storm of conflicting emotions, but he only let the positive show.

"Alright Naruto-kun, make a wish," Hinata ordered warmly. _'Make a wish? Why bother? It won't come true.'_ Naruto thought as he stared at the brightly lit cake. He knew what he wished would happen, but also knew that he was the one who would have to make it happen. Then it occurred to him, something else he wanted that had a chance of happening. He inhaled sharply and blew out the candles, mentally wishing that all his precious people would be happy for the rest of their lives. The group of friends gave a small cheer before light was restored. "What did you wish for?" Hinata asked him. "It won't come true if I say," He teased, "Now, let's have some cake." Soon everyone was eating a piece of the delicious dessert.

Soon after Naruto had finished his piece Lee presented him with a large box, which landed heavily on his lap. "Geez, Lee, what is in here," Naruto asked with a groan. He knew before he even took the lid off that Lee had given him training weights, but he waited until he saw the several hundred pounds worth of weight to thank the taijutsu virtuoso. Lee struck the 'nice guy' pose saying, "You can never have enough weights." Naruto gave the box back so it could be set aside and rubbed his legs to get the feeling back in them. Tenten and Neji produced a much smaller and lighter gift, thankfully, which he opened to reveal a shiny new kunai. "You can never have enough weapons," Tenten said smiling at him. _'Always practical gifts from those two,'_ He thought as he tested its keen edge. "Thanks guys," he said setting the blade on the coffee table.

Next he was given two books, both of which he knew he would use, and a third he might just burn. Chouji had given him with a cookbook with a large section devoted to ramen, and he thanked the Akimichi heartily. Ino cheerfully presented him with a book on plant care, since his home was littered with plants that he delighted in taking care of. The third was a gift from both Shino and Kiba something they had compiled themselves, a "Survival Guide for Dummies." Naruto had a vein throbbing in his forehead, while everyone laughed, but realized that Shino had helped, so it wasn't a complete joke. Naruto joined in the laughter while punching Kiba in the arm, knowing who had come up with the title.

Then Shikamaru and Temari gave him a box which contained a shogi set. "I guess we'll have to play sometime, huh?" Naruto asked looking at the new husband, who merely shrugged in response. Temari however nudged the Nara hard in the ribs, "Of course you will. Come over sometime and get him to stop watching those clouds he's so fond of and do something more than just lie around and breathe. It seems the only time he really does anything is on missions and at night." Shikamaru blushed at his wife's words and muttered something under his breath while rolling his eyes. But Temari heard and rounded on him, "What was that?"

Sakura came up next with a small box that contained a med kit so he wouldn't be completely helpless if he was injured on a mission. Naruto noted darkly to himself that the present wouldn't get much use considering his regenerating abilities, but it touched him that she cared enough to put the gift together. Sasuke provided a wooden box with a number of scrolls inside. He inspected one to see it had a number of jutsus on it that he had yet to see, and suspected that Sasuke had developed them. He smiled at his best friend and rival, even if Sasuke did want to beat him, he wanted it to be as fair as possible. He thanked his two teammates before he turned to his girlfriend.

Hinata smiled at him and went to retrieve her gift, which she had left in the kitchen. She handed it to him as she sat next to him once again, "Happy Birthday, Naruto." He removed its careful wrapping and found a brown leather wallet with a green frog patch attached to its side. "This is Gama-Chan's replacement," Hinata said as Naruto took out his old money purse, "He's falling apart." There were stitches where the frog had busted at his seams and a few patches covering his body in different shades of green. Naruto solemnly transferred the money from the old to the new finally putting his ID in a spot designed specifically for that purpose. He held the now deflated frog and wondered what he should do with it now, perhaps a small ceremony where the frog would be burned to ash.

He thanked everyone again for their gifts and gave Hinata a swift peck on the cheek, causing her to flush with embarrassment from their audience. Getting up he pushed play on the DVD player and turned on the television before sitting down again in one of the couches, which had been rearranged to give everyone a better view, and drawing Hinata near and she leaned into him for the comfort of having him so close. The movie started off like nearly all horrors did, with calm normalcy, which quickly turned into chaotic terror. The girls got quite into it, while the guys watched with emotions ranging between boredom and indifference to suspenseful trepidation. Naruto on the other hand concentrated on enjoying his time with Hinata; he knew that soon enough he might never see her again.

Occasionally during the movie Hinata would bury her face in his chest out of fear for the characters in the movie and Naruto would tighten his hold on her. He saw Sakura was nestled up to Sasuke who was enjoying himself immensely, and Ino was looking quite jealous. When it ended everyone had differing opinions on the plot, characters, and presentation, most however were not too happy with it. But that may be because, as ninja, they see a lot of things that would cause normal people to lose bowel control. Naruto thought maybe he should have gotten a comedy, as they decided that mind numbing violence wouldn't have been much better, but he really wasn't in the mood to laugh.

He turned to the clock on the wall and noted that it was nearly ten at night, "Alright guys, it is time for you to go." Kiba looked at him surprised, "I thought you'd want this to go on until at least midnight. I mean, you're the party animal amongst us." Akamaru barked his agreement with his master. _'I don't think I could take two more hours of this,'_ he thought. "No, because I want to spend some time alone with Hinata as it is our anniversary," He said to get them moving. Kiba nudged him playfully in the ribs, "I see what you're getting at." He said low enough that Hinata did not hear, but Naruto's blush gave away the topic of their discussion. Everyone helped clean up and he thanked them all again for coming and for their presents, he even gave Chouji the rest of the chips as thanks.

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Naruto stood in his doorway until the last of his friends disappeared from sight before closing the door and turning to his girlfriend. "Now it is time for your anniversary gift," he declared as he went to his room to retrieve it. _'Soon it will be time for yours as well,'_ Hinata thought, remembering her course and hoping she'd have the courage to see it through without fainting. Naruto returned holding the present behind his back and he told her to close her eyes, she complied readily.

Naruto opened the box and went behind Hinata, who was seated on the couch, and put it in front of her his arms encircling her body. "Open your eyes," He ordered softly. Hinata did and was enthralled by the sight before her. A silver necklace with a circular pendant that had a masterful spiral engraving was lying on a bed of midnight blue velvet. She touched it lightly as though afraid to tarnish it and marveled at the engraving. _'Was this done by hand? It seems impossible,' _Hinata's stunned reaction and ensuing silence had Naruto worried. "Umm, do you like it?" He asked. "Oh, yes! I love it Naru-kun!" She exclaimed, "Would you put it on for me?" She removed her silky ebon hair from her neck as he deftly placed his gift to her around her neck. She looked down at it as it sparkled from its position between her breasts. Naruto hopped over the back of the couch so he could see it properly.

It looked as though it belonged there, as it truly did, but he noticed that Hinata was trembling. "What is wrong, Hinata?" She looked up with him, her eyes filled with love for the man who firmly held her heart. Suddenly she jumped on top of him and held him in a breathtakingly deep, passionate kiss. Hinata felt drunk on the emotions running through her, which she thought a good thing for what she was about to do. In Naruto's mind he was thinking, _'I think she likes it. Well, Hinata, I'm glad I could make you happy one last time. I hope you will one day forgive me for what I'm about to do to you.'_

Naruto continued to kiss Hinata, wanting this moment to last forever as his hands traced paths up and down her sides. He noticed that she was blushing while they kissed, which wasn't unlikely due to their compromising position, with her straddling his pelvis. The odd thing about her blush was that it was steadily getting worse as he noticed her hands began to travel south. As soon as they reached his waist and began to tug on his belt he grabbed her wrists and broke the kiss, "What are you doing, Hinata-chan?" If possible she became even redder as she was caught in the act, but she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "I want to share everything I am with you Naru-kun." She attempted to lift his shirt but was stopped again by his hands firmly grasping her wrists.

Hinata looked in his eyes with profound hurt behind her own, but she noticed, and was surprised to find, an identical emotion reflected in his eyes. "Hina-chan, don't do that," Naruto said breaking away from her gaze. She was stunned; he had often mentioned that she had a "killer bod" and that he wanted to know how it felt giving her a sly wink, which invariably made her blush. So, why now, did he refuse her? She began to sob as she jumped off of him and ran towards the door. Before she had gotten even halfway she ran into something she recognized as Naruto's chest, she attempted to go around him, but he hugged her tightly to him. "Why are you crying, Hina-chan?" he asked burying his face in her shoulder.

"You won't make love to me," she sobbed into his chest as she struggled against his embrace, "How do I know that you love me at all?" Hinata continued to fight to get free until she noticed moisture on her shoulder. _'Is Naruto crying?'_ "You should know, because of the fact that I won't," he said softly, sadly. "You are more precious to me than life itself. I don't want a mistake to ruin what we have." Hinata stopped struggling completely and wrapped her arms around her love, "It wouldn't be a mistake, not if we love each other." Naruto numbly shook his head, "If people found out, they'd say horrible things about you, and I won't let that happen."

Hinata began crying again, but not from sadness. Naruto would do anything to make sure she was happy, even if it was to hold off on something he clearly wanted. That he wanted it was an understatement, it was his innermost desire to share all the love that he had to give with her, but the situation wouldn't allow for it. He then made a request of her, "Will you sing for me, for my anniversary present, Hinata-chan?" She barely heard the whisper, but silently nodded as she chose a song to sing. She went with a lullaby that her mother had sung to her when she was little, and one that she had sung to Naruto sometimes to help him get to sleep, he loved this song. At first she was a little hoarse from her bout of crying, but soon her sweet, melodic voice filled Naruto's ear with soothing music. They stood in the middle of the apartment, holding one another, as the song quieted the turmoil in both their hearts.

As the final lingering notes echoed within the apartment, Naruto backed away enough to take Hinata's beautiful face in his hands and kiss her softly; this was his way of saying thank you. "I think it is time I took you home," he whispered as he went to the closet that held the washing machine and the clothes dryer. Luckily, he had put her jacket in the dryer before the movie started so it was free of moisture and still had some warmth lingering within it. He helped put the jacket on her before slipping his own on and opening the door for his girlfriend. They walked hand in hand in the nearly deserted streets of Konoha, towards the Hyuuga compound; both didn't really want to get there as it would mean they would have to part.

'_So it would seem the rumors are true,'_ thought a dark shadow that had been keeping an eye on the couple before they had even left the apartment. She had been surprised at Hinata's forwardness, and had wondered if she should step in to prevent something from happening, but quickly ruled that out as this was a discreet mission. For some reason she felt proud that Naruto had acted like a gentleman and refused the Hyuuga's offer. _'Maybe he would make a good Hokage. He seems like a nice guy and there's no doubting his strength.'_ The ANBU member continued to stealthily tail the couple, more specifically the blonde.

Naruto put his arm around Hinata's waist just to be closer to her; they were nearing her home but he had noticed that they were being followed. The person was doing well to hide his chakra signature but he hadn't done anything to conceal his scent. He felt a little uncomfortable having an unknown audience, but as he and Hinata stopped before the gates to her home he forgot about it as he gave her what he knew to be their last kiss. It lasted for several sweet moments, and he breathed in her essence, savoring everything he could about his love. His heart ached as they broke apart and wished each other goodnight, "Sweet dreams, Hinata-chan." She went through the gate and turned around to give him a comforting smile. Naruto burned the image of her at that moment into his memory. That is how he would remember her, he resolved as she closed the gate and he began the long walk home.

As he had suspected, the shadow kept following him, _'I bet Tsunade got suspicious after my reaction to her news,'_ He growled at the unpleasant thoughts that sprang up from remembering her words, _'I can't say I blame her. I simply was not prepared for it.'_ He was getting closer to home when he began to think about how to deal with his watcher. It would be simpler to kill him and destroy the remains; but, as it was likely a Leaf Nin keeping tabs on him, that wasn't an option. However, he needed to keep him quiet for as long as possible so he could get away with his plan. Naruto remembered that the apartment next to his was vacant; he could hide this person there after he knocked them out. Naruto reached his apartment and took out his keys.

The ANBU member watched from a roof across the way as Naruto entered his apartment, she faintly heard the door close but the lights did not come on. She began to wonder what was up when she felt a light breeze, but she paid it no attention and kept her gaze on the dark apartment. Naruto, however, was standing behind her considering how he would incapacitate her. It would have to be quick, otherwise she might retreat and raise hell, and he would never get away with what he was planning. But he also didn't want to hurt her; she was a fellow Leaf ninja. _'You are lucky you are an ally,'_ he thought as he struck her where her neck met her right shoulder with the edge of his left hand. She slumped to the roof with a muffled grunt while Naruto stood impassively over her. He picked up the now limp ANBU and carried her over to his apartment complex. Picking the lock, he entered the bare apartment with his cargo; he put her in a closet before heading to his apartment.

Naruto had to make sure that woman stayed asleep for a good while and he had a certain herb growing in his room that, when ground up and added to water, would keep a person unconscious for at least a day if not more. He took a mortar and pestle from a cupboard to grind up the herb he had collected from his window side garden, and began to think about the time he had tested it out. After drinking the horrible concoction he didn't feel anything immediately, but shortly he began to feel woozy. He had attempted to make it to a couch at least, before he lost consciousness, but failed and ended up on the floor of his apartment where a worried Hinata had woke him up the next day. He hadn't thought about using it again until tonight.

Naruto added the crushed leaves to a cup of water and stirred the mixture with a finger as he went next door to his patient. He had to force feed the woman as she was still out, making her swallow by holding her nose closed. Naruto closed the door of the closet whispering, "I don't envy the headache you'll have when you wake up." He quickly left the apartment closing the door behind him and locking it again before heading to his own.

There he began to collect the presents his friends had given him and took them to his room. He spread out a large blank scroll and began to write seals onto it before locking the items away until he called for them again. This way he wouldn't be weighed down, most notably by Lee's weights, also it saved room in his backpack for his clothes. He began to stuff his pack with clothes which he rolled up tightly to save room alongside some blank scrolls. He eventually ran out of room and had a few shirts and shorts left over. He put those into his chest of drawers out of an unconscious need to leave the room the way Hinata had helped make it, before trashing it in a frantic search for her jacket. He put the pack on his back and went to his nightstand and unlocked the little drawer and pulled it open. He reached inside to pull out eleven envelopes each with a name upon it, only one remained unsealed.

Naruto went to his living room and looked around to make sure he hadn't missed anything; next he walked to the kitchen and placed the eleven notes on the counter, which could be viewed from the living room. He picked up the one addressed to Hinata as though wondering if what he had written would be enough. With a sigh of uncertainty he took out his keychain and removed the key to his apartment, which he put into the enveloped he held and prepared to seal it with a reluctant lick. But he paused and took out his wallet, which held several photographs of him and Hinata together. He looked over each one with a fond smile as he remembered when and where they were taken. He chose the one that Hinata had declared her favorite, one of him pushing her on the swing out in front of the academy both having the time of their lives, and wrote a message on the back before slipping it into the envelope.

Naruto sealed the envelope, finally satisfied with his words and placed it on the counter next to the others. He walked to the door and paused for the second time that day, hesitant about his choice. He forgot to suppress the fox's chakra as he argued with himself and was soon gasping from the pain. Could he never let up? Would he have to remain awake, suppressing the demon chakra until he blacked out from exhaustion? In the pain he found the arguments for going through with his plan had far more weight than those for staying. He now held no doubts as he strode through the doorway, closing it quietly behind him.

Naruto ran, he ran down the darkened streets of Konoha, keeping silent, keeping to the shadows and soon he was at the walls surrounding his home village. He stopped in a dark alley to watch the guards patrol the wall top. He studied their movements noting how long he would have when they turned around to patrol back the way they had come. He saw his opportunity arrive and he disappeared as he used all the speed he could muster to get up the wall and over it and into the forest before they turned again. He stopped again in the branches of a tree and studied the wall top again to judge if they had detected him. The guards did not look anxious nor had they raised the alarm, he was free and now his last mission could begin.

He looked to the distant Hokage mountain and whispered, "Goodbye Tsunade no baa-chan." He looked around the townscape and whispered, "Goodbye Konoha." He looked specifically at the Hyuuga mansion and whispered, "Goodbye, Hinata," before summoning two shadow clones and sending them off in differing directions to hide his true path from those who might follow. He began loping off east through the tree tops, guided by the stars that shone brightly in the sky above. _'Goodbye.'_

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(1) Koibito: Japanese for "sweetheart" or "lover." In this case it is the former.

(2) Ano: This is how the Japanese stall for time as they think about what they need to say. At least I think it is. It seems to fit with what Hinata has said as she has summoned up the courage to speak to Naruto in the anime. Also I think I remember hearing my Japanese professor, Kumiko-sensei, mention something about it as well.

Well all of you had been wondering what he was going to do and now you have your answer. I have been posting these chapters daily, but you should know that I do not write several thousand words worth of this story per day. Sometimes I'm lucky to get a hundred. Then again sometimes my muse sings sweetly into my ear and I get a lot written. That said I have to type up chapter two and then edit it before I present it to you, my lovely readers.By the way, I am looking for someone to beta for me. I may be a little picky because I do not have the luxury of knowing who you are. Those who offer should have something I can reference in order to determine your skill level. As always reviews are appreciated.


	5. The Day After

Sorry for not warning about the toxic levels of fluff last chapter. Ah yes by the way, there is a song that I simply could not get out of my head as I was writing that, "Moving Forward" by Hoobastank. I'm not going to put the words in because this is not a song fic. But that song quite accurately reflects how Naruto felt at the moment he left Konoha.

Disclaimer: Chapter one.

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Hinata woke the next day feeling wonderfully refreshed. Her hand immediately went up to trace the engraving on the necklace she had kept on while she slept. She felt like taking a shower but didn't want to part with her gift for some reason. So she opted to leave it on while she freshened up. After she got out of the shower she made sure to thoroughly dry the silver before drying the rest of her body and combing her hair. This took a while as her long tresses now fell all the way down to the small of her back.

Dressing in her normal black t-shirt, she pulled on capris that were so dark a purple so as to seem black and threw her jacket on over that. She left the bulky thing open in the front as it was quite warm inside the house. She walked out into the hall shutting the door to her room and headed toward the kitchen to get some breakfast. As she was passing her sister's room the door opened and out strode Hanabi. "Good morning, Nee-chan," the younger sister said looking a little tired from having just woken up. "Good morning, Hanabi-chan," Hinata replied, uncharacteristically happy as they walked together towards the kitchen. Her father's cold demeanor would not bring her down today. "Where'd you get the necklace, nee-chan?" Hanabi asked, causing Hinata to stop in her tracks, the younger Hyuuga walked a few steps before coming to a stop herself.

Hinata hadn't realized that the necklace was out for all to see, and quickly attempted to hide it beneath her shirt. Hanabi however had come up and quickly grabbed it to get a better look, "It is beautiful. So did a certain someone give this to you?" Hinata smiled at the compliment and nodded to answer the question. Hanabi knew about her relationship with Naruto and had kept it a secret all this time, which Hinata was grateful to her for doing so. Naruto had encouraged her to become closer with her sister since he didn't have any family and she shouldn't take it for granted.

Hinata had found that Hanabi, like herself, felt a lot of pressure to not fail the clan, and while she did not show it to the rest of the family it was tough to deal with. The only one she would show any form of weakness to was her big sister, who wholeheartedly accepted her despite the distance that had formed between them over the years. Hinata encouraged her little sister when the pressure became too much and was a welcome pillar of support when Hanabi needed it. Bottling one's emotions inside eventually could cause a person to fracture, Hinata had seen it with Hanabi and she knew that Naruto was doing the same. She resolved that she would demand that he explain why he was acting so distant to everyone else and trying to hide the pain she knew he felt. Hanabi giggled and released the necklace allowing Hinata to hide it, "I think he likes you." The elder sibling smiled at the younger, "So do I."

They started walking again and arrived at the kitchen in time for breakfast to be served. They ate in the customary silence that prevailed when sharing a table with their father. Hinata quickly finished her meal soon followed by Hanabi. Hinata sat and waited for a while, looking at the clock and imagining how the morning training between Naruto and Sasuke was going. She wondered when they would finish as she really wanted to see the blonde man. "Hanabi, would you like to spar for a bit?" Hinata asked while she cleaned her plate at the sink. "Sure," her little sister replied. Hiashi said nothing, but gave a small nod as they asked to take their leave of the dining table, but he noted that Hinata rarely asked Hanabi to spar with her. He wondered if something was going to happen today that Hinata needed to keep of her mind. He dismissed the thoughts as he mentally prepared himself for the day.

Making their way to the courtyard the two sisters stood around fifteen feet apart and bowed to each other before taking up the Juken stance they had been taught since they could walk. During their infrequent sparring sessions both tended to hold back, since direct hits could send the one struck to the hospital to recover. But with the power of their taijutsu style even a scratch could prove deadly. Sometimes however the two of them would really get into the bout and would both end up needing a stay at the hospital.

Hanabi charged forward to close the distance and struck out with her right palm aimed at her sister's abdomen, but Hinata dodged to the left and brought her right hand forward to attempt to hit her younger sister's right shoulder. Hanabi rolled away from the attack and struck out with her left and which was knocked away. Neither gained ground as the fight continued as the object of this exercise was not to kill, so other techniques weren't employed. Their agility and flexibility kept them out of harm's way as the battle seemed more like a dance than anything else.

Eventually they called the match a draw as they were breathing heavily and had earned a nice sheen of sweat from their exertions, despite the chill wind. Hiashi watched the conclusion of the match from an upstairs window with approval, neither of his daughters had any glaring problems with their technique. He saw them bow before heading inside to take a shower to get rid of the greasy feeling that accompanied sweat.

After her shower, Hinata sat on her bed and looked at the bouquet of flowers Naruto had given her the day before. Though they wouldn't last very long, the message they represented would remain. She turned to the flower pot next to the window and smiled. Each spring this exotic flower would bloom a deep purple that she adored. It had six petals three formed a shell around the stamen while the other three were set opposite those to hang down loosely though slightly out from the stem. He had called it an iris and it came from far to the west. As she thought on these gifts she wondered if Naruto would be done with his training soon. Sometimes the two of them, Sasuke and Naruto, would go on for hours, and they'd go to eat, utterly exhausted, at Ichiraku's Ramen. The noodles would give them the energy needed for the rest of the day.

She decided that she would go to their training field to determine if they were there, but she would swing by Ichiraku's first, to make sure they hadn't already finished. She felt as though yesterday hadn't been enough, despite spending most of the day with Naruto. She already missed being with him.

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Naruto looked over his shoulder, back to the west, and saw that the Hokage Mountain was no longer in view. He stopped on a branch and turned to face the trail behind him. Now that the mountain was out of sight he was truly gone. He had left his home, where he was accepted and loved and now faced a cold and indifferent world. He doubted he would ever return to see his friends, his adoptive family; which included Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Iruka; he might never see Hinata again. Solemnly and with great sadness he removed his forehead protector. He held the metal, running his thumb over the leaf symbol etching for a bit and then extended his hand out in front of him and prepared to drop it.

He paused, unable to let go, and though of the years this very item had been in its proper place, covering his forehead. He remembered receiving it from Iruka, fighting for it in the land of waves; his mind played over the hundreds of missions he had worn it on since then. With a sigh that regretted his weakness at being unable to let go of the past, he slipped the thing into his pack and began running again. He was determined to find the answers he knew he would be denied in Konoha before the beast within him killed him.

His momentary lapse in concentration had caused the fiery pain to return, reminding him of how dangerously close that time might be. He had put it off for as long as possible, attempting to savor every moment he had with those he loved, trying to make sure that they would be happy when he was no longer there. That was why he had nudged Sasuke towards Sakura, he was sure that together they would find happiness, even without their best friend around to help them. He also knew that his sudden departure would cause Hinata a lot of pain, but he could not allow her to see him at the moment where he either took his own life or the demon came free of him. The nightmares he had been having seemed to point towards either of those two conclusions, either death at his own hands to save others, or death at the hands of a demon that would wreak destruction on the world yet again.

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Sasuke had reported to the ANBU headquarters like instructed yesterday when he had been told that he was to be accepted into the ranks of the elite group. He stood in a dark room lit only by a single fluorescent light that gave the entire scene a pale sheen. There was a table next to a chair with armrests that had blood stains on them and he wondered if that chair had seen some peculiar uses in its time. On the table was the garb that all ANBU wore. A gray combat vest and black pants and black sandals made the cloth parts of the apparel. Gray bracers came next and normally he would also be issued a katana, but since he already had the Kusanagi they decided that he had actually saved them some money.

Twelve masks were lined up on the table each representing an animal from the zodiac. His eyes lingered on each as he was told to choose one. There was the rat, the ox, the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the serpent, Sasuke's lip curled in disgust but he said nothing as he continued to look down the line. Next was the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the hen, the dog, and finally the pig, but none of these called to him. He briefly considered choosing the dragon considering his penchant for using fire jutsus, but decided on the tiger since that was the sign that ended most of said jutsus.

Now he was told to sit in the chair while this shifty looking man came in bearing a case in his hand. Realizing what was to come, Sasuke bared his left arm to allow the tattooist to ply his trade. The man sat in a stool that had been provided and sterilized his needle before wiping the spot on Sasuke's arm where he would place the symbol with alcohol. _'Well he doesn't really look trustworthy, but at least he's a clean guy.'_ Sasuke thought as the man turned on the needle. Sasuke didn't flinch at the pain as the needle pierced his skin, but he did smirk. Naruto would be so jealous, he had finally one upped the blonde, though it had taken longer than truly necessary because he had had to prove his loyalty before being accepted. He knew how Naruto would react when he found out, which is why he didn't tell the blond about it yesterday.

Or, at least, he thought he knew. Naruto had become a different person over the past few months. He seemed like his old self when he was around Hinata at least, but any other time his ever present smile was decidedly missing. To the casual observer he was just being quiet and thoughtful, but to those who knew him, his silence and mood did not bode well. He wondered what Naruto would do without a sparring partner this morning as the tattooist rubbed away the blood with a white cloth revealing a black tattoo of the leaf symbol on the Uchiha's arm.

As he put his tiger mask over his face he nearly laughed when he realized the kick Naruto and Sakura would get out of his choice for a mask. He had dropped his forehead protector to hang around his neck so as not to block the mask he now wore. He would inevitably see Naruto later that day so he decided to go to the hospital to surprise Sakura.

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Tsunade was behind her desk quietly reading her paperwork when the door suddenly opened. In strode Sakura with a stack of folders in her arms, "Good morning, Tsunade-sama. Do you have anything you need me to do today?" The older woman looked up at her former apprentice before gesturing to a smaller pile of folders at the corner of the desk. Now that Sakura oversaw the hospital, Tsunade had an easier time running the village. She had much less paperwork, but still didn't feel like doing it and took every opportunity to avoid it. Perhaps she should get Naruto to come do her work under the guise of preparing him to take over. True it would help him to understand what would be required of him as the next Hokage, but she just wasn't as young as she used to be, or looked for that matter.

"There are a few injured genin coming back from a mission today, but it is nothing serious," Tsunade said before pausing over a memo. "Well as long as they're not dead it's not too bad of a disaster. What was the mission rank?" Sakura asked as she looked over the new files she had picked up from the desktop. "It was a C rank that got complicated," the Hokage replied absentmindedly. Sakura giggled lightly, "Yeah I know how that goes."

"Sakura," Tsunade started to get the young woman's attention. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?" "Did you know that Sasuke has been accepted into ANBU," she watched the Med Nin's reaction. "Really? That's great news," Sakura replied, beaming, as she closed the folder she had been looking through. His being accepted meant that he was forgiven for leaving without permission those years ago and that he was trusted despite several attempts on Naruto's life. Sakura turned and headed to the door, "Well, I have a long day ahead of me. Ja ne." The pink haired woman was out the door before Tsunade could begin to speak.

'_That's funny, she didn't mention anything about Naruto being in line to become the next Hokage,' _Tsunade thought, a little bewildered as that should have been the first thing out of Sakura's mouth when she came in. But she didn't have long to ponder it before Shizune strolled in carrying a stack of paperwork that needed attention. Tsunade sighed; she would definitely need to bring Naruto in to help her out.

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Sakura arrived at the hospital a short while later and handed a few files to a nurse while assigning med nin to each of the patients with instructions to wait for her approval before giving treatment. She walked down the sterile halls to her office and entered the neat room whose back wall was covered with bookshelves lined with texts on nearly every known medical condition. She opened a filing cabinet and put away those files she was already done with. She turned back towards her desk and came face to face with a tiger masked ANBU member. She jumped a little at first, but calmed quickly and went around the man. "Good morning, Sasuke," she said as she sat down behind her desk. "Huh? How did you know it was me?" Sasuke asked.

"There are only two people in this village who come into my office without permission and can sneak up on me, and only one of them is an ANBU member, while the other has vibrant blonde hair that lets you know who it is from a mile away," Sakura said hiding a triumphant smile behind a paper she was reading. Sakura then noticed the mask he was wearing and giggled, "The tiger huh? How original." Sasuke snorted in a way that sounded sort of like a laugh, "Yeah, but I haven't told anyone yet," Sasuke said sounding a little disappointed. Sakura raised an eyebrow at his tone, Sasuke never showed disappointment, "Have you told Naruto yet?" Sasuke lifted mask to rest on the top of his head, but would soon wish he hadn't, "No, I wanted to tell you first." Sasuke's eyes widened and a faint blush could be seen bedecking his cheeks. Sakura hid another smile behind the paper before coyly asking, "And why might that be, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha opened his mouth to say something, but could not form any words, and was now horribly flushed. Sakura giggled at his reaction, "You don't need to answer that," She watched his face return to normal before adding, "But on one condition." Sasuke looked a little guarded at that moment, "What might that be, Sakura-chan," he asked mimicking her earlier words. Sakura smirked at him he became paler wondering what she had in mind. "You," she paused for dramatic effect, "Have to join me for lunch." Sasuke gasped, but soon processed what she had said and gave her a barely detectable smile, "Oh whatever shall I do?" He asked in a falsetto mimicking a damsel in distress. Sakura rolled her eyes, Naruto had rubbed off on him; "You'll be here at 11:30 if you know what's good for you."

Sasuke stood up and went to the door and opened it before looking back at the woman with a genuine smile, "You know, threatening someone is not a very good flirting tactic." He pulled down his mask and walked out of the room leaving a blushing Sakura behind. _'I wonder if he's going to show up,'_ she thought. She thought about his new role as an ANBU member and smiled,_ 'I hope he waits to tell Naruto. I want to see his face when he hears the news.'_ The medic nin checked over a few notes before heading off to do her rounds, unaware that one of her best friends was steadily getting farther away from home.

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Hinata had been by Ichiraku's where she was warmly greeted by the owner and his daughter, but was told that Naruto had not been by yet today. She passed by numerous people who complimented her necklace, which she had taken out as soon as she was out of the Hyuuga complex. She thanked them for their words and continued on her path to the training ground hoping to find the blonde. She walked amongst the soon to be bare trees and thought about the changing seasons. Winter was not her favorite season, but she did like snow, Naruto had told her on her birthday last year that she looked like a beautiful spirit when she stood out in the falling snow.

The three log posts of training area three came into view, but she did not see or hear anyone sparring in the immediate area. Concentrating her chakra, she activated her Byakuugan and searched out the area from where she stood. She found only forest animals, trees, and rocks. There wasn't a human being in sight. With a sigh of exasperation, she turned and headed back into town wondering if she somehow missed Naruto as he came back from training. As she was walking amongst the buildings of Konoha she felt and heard her stomach rumble. She just so happened to be near Ichiraku's again so she decided to stop in for lunch. She sat down and ordered miso ramen and waited for her order to be filled.

Ayame watched her silently while Teuchi prepared the meal. Hinata was feeling a little uncomfortable under the woman's gaze, and started when she was asked a question, "So, after all this time, you are no longer watching him from the shadows, but are holding him within the light?" Ayame wasn't telepathic but she was able to tell what was on Hinata's mind just by studying her face. Hinata nodded her head when Teuchi looked back to see what her answer would be, "Hai." Ayame leaned forward so that the conversation was just between them, "So, how has Naruto been since you two started going out?" Hinata would normally have found this to be a bit too personal a subject to talk about with someone who was a near perfect stranger, but she saw in the woman's eyes that she cared for Naruto as a big sister might. "He has been wonderful; he is always so kind to me. He shows me how to have fun even when I am alone. He cheers me up when I am sad or lonely. I feel warm when I am with him, even when it is cold. It is warmth that comes from within at the sight of his face, the sound of his voice, the touch of his hand." Hinata eyes had unfocused as she thought about the man she loved. "He inspires me."

Hinata snapped back to reality when a bowl of ramen was placed in front of her by Teuchi. He was smiling at her, but made no indication that he had heard what she had said. Regardless, Hinata was blushing furiously as she looked down at her meal and prepared to eat by saying, "Itadekimasu." Ayame came around the counter to sit next to her, "If I didn't know any better, I would say you're in love." Hinata quickly swallowed the bite she had just taken before looking at the smiling woman.

"You know, I've watched him grow up," Ayame said assuming a far off look. "Ever since the first day he came into this shop up until now." Hinata ate silently as the woman continued, but listened raptly to her words. "I wasn't sure about him at first, as I had heard some horrible things said about him. Like how he was a demon. But after a few visits I realized that the whispers of the other villagers were untrue. He was nothing like how they described him, and I couldn't see why anyone could hate him so much as they did. I mean, yes he pulled pranks, but that was to get the attention that all of us need. He was so cheerful despite it all and his wide smile always brightened my day."

Teuchi listened quietly to his daughter speak as he went about his daily routine of checking for ingredients and making sure the burner was at the proper temperature. Hinata wasn't quite sure what to make of Ayame's speech, but she knew that Naruto had positively affected yet another person's life. "However, despite all his cheerful words, I realized that he was still missing something, and that was love," Ayame continued, "Deep down I knew he was lonely despite his friends and I'm sure that is why he was always chasing after his teammate Sakura." Ayame turned and looked Hinata in the eye, "He may not have noticed but I did. You too, had been watching him grow stronger and more mature. You wanted him to succeed, you cheered him on; you wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn't with you. I had hoped he would notice you and the unique beauty you possess. It was never readily visible because you always hid it away, but it was there."

Hinata had finished her meal and continued to listen as the words forced her to walk in the past. The years since graduation sped by for her mind's eye and went to last night. Even though Naruto had shut down her advances, he did so out of love for her. Ayame had been watching her closely for several minutes once she had noticed that her listener was no longer present. Hinata blinked herself back into reality and looked at the brown haired woman. "I am glad that Naruto has you to love him," Ayame said giving her a hug. Hinata sat there frozen for a moment before returning the hug, "Thank you." Ayame broke away and looked out to the sky, "It looks like it may rain. You should get home to get an umbrella or to stay there and stay out of the rain."

Hinata stood after paying for her meal and had begun to say goodbye to the genial shop owners when she heard her name being called. She turned to see Sakura arm in arm with an ANBU member in a tiger mask. Seeing the hair sticking up behind the mask and the unique weapon draped over the man's shoulder, Hinata knew who it was and why he was wearing the mask. "Hello, Sakura-san. Hello Sasuke-san. How are you today," She asked cheerily. Sakura beamed at her, "Fantastic." Sasuke shrugged, "I'm fine, how about you?" Hinata smiled at them, "I am good. So you two chose to eat here for lunch?" Sasuke lifted his mask, "Ramen seems to have grown on me," He muttered looking away sheepishly. Hinata gasped as though suddenly realizing something, "Have you two seen Naruto-kun yet today?" The pair looked to each other then back to Hinata, "We haven't seen him." Hinata looked a little dejected, prompting Sakura to add, "If he isn't at his apartment, you could try the library. I hear he's been studying a lot of scrolls recently."

Hinata nodded and walked away from the shop towards Naruto's apartment. "Thank you Sakura-san. Have fun on your date," Hinata giggled at the sight of a blushing Sasuke and went her way. Soon she was standing on Naruto's doormat looking at the 'out' side of the sign on the door. Why she paused to wonder whether or not he was in there, she didn't know, because even if he wanted some alone time with her he would leave the sign on 'in' as he felt bad about lying to his friends. While she could check with her Byakuugan, Naruto had made it clear that he didn't like those who peep on others. His words had suggested that she wanted to see him naked and she had begun to squeak as she tried to defend herself, but her brain wasn't functioning properly with all the blood in her face. He had hugged her then, _"I don't mind if it's you, but let's save that for later."_

Hinata sighed as she turned away to head to the library, maybe Naruto was telling her something then that she should have paid attention to last night. As she walked out of the apartment complex and under the open sky she felt something hit her head. Looking up she saw an overcast sky that hadn't been there this morning. _'And the day started out so beautifully too,'_ She thought as another rain drop landed on her forehead. With a slight grunt she jumped off in a hurry to get home before the downpour truly began. She arrived in time to avoid the worst of it but was still quite wet so she kicked off her sandals and went up stairs to get into a dry change of clothes before coming back down to slip her sandals back on and grab an umbrella.

She stepped out onto the veranda and closed the door behind her then opened the umbrella stepping out into the rain. The rain was deafening and the wind that drove it was chill forcing everyone to take shelter inside, but there were a few people who had business too urgent to call on account of rain. She nearly passed the Yamanaka flower shop when she thought she might ask Ino if she had seen Naruto.

When she walked in she was greeted by Ino's cheerful demeanor, "Good afternoon to you. Even if the weather gets you down our flowers will cheer you up." Hinata giggled at her friend's attempt to sell her flowers despite the dreadful weather. Ino actually looked up at her supposed customer, "Oh, hey, Hinata. What brings you here?" Hinata smiled at her friend, "Hello, Ino. I was just going to ask if you had seen Naruto-kun today." Ino's cheerful face dampened a little, "No, I haven't seen him, do you need to talk to him about something?" Hinata blushed slightly, "No, not really. I just wanted to spend time with him." Ino's wide smile returned, "I can understand that." Then she paused as something caught her eye, "Hinata, are you wearing a necklace?"

Hinata nodded and took out the necklace so that Ino could see. She understood her friend's surprise; she never wore jewelry, it wasn't really her style. But she felt that Naruto's gift would be reason enough to change since it wasn't gaudy, but quite tasteful. The blonde kunoichi studied the necklace with awe before looking up at her friend, "I've never known you to wear jewelry. Did Naruto buy this for you?" Hinata beamed and nodded, "It was his anniversary present to me." Ino nodded sagely, "Oh that's right. That was yesterday." _'I shouldn't tell her that he nearly forgot about it.'_ Hinata decided that she should be on her way so she went to the door, "Goodbye, Ino." Ino went to open the door for her friend, "Goodbye, Hinata. By the way that is a beautiful necklace."

Hinata opened the umbrella again to go out into the rain drenched street. Hinata walked up a flight of steps as she wondered where she should check next and found Shikamaru lying down on a bench under an awning. She stood under the awning and closed the umbrella before holding it above the man's face to allow the water to drip onto his face. She watched barely controlling her mirth as a drop fell on his nose which he wrinkled to try to move it without too much effort. Another drop landed on his forehead and he opened one eye to look for the perpetrator. "You could have just nudged me," Shikamaru said looking at her wide smile. Naruto's mischievous nature had rubbed off on her. "Where would the fun be in that?" Hinata asked. Shikamaru sat up and shivered despite being out of the rain he was still a little damp from the mist thrown into the air when the rain struck the ground.

"Man, and today was such a good day for cloud watching," He groaned as he looked to the sky. "There are clouds up there now. Why not watch them?" Hinata asked a little confused as she too looked to the sky. "That may be true. But storm clouds are a little too exciting for my tastes," Shikamaru said, his words punctuated by a lightning strike. Hinata figured that this conversation was going nowhere fast, "Ne, have you seen Naruto-kun today?" Shikamaru, who had been leaning back against the back of the bench with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head, opened both to regard her, "No, I haven't seen him. But I was expecting a prank sometime today, but I thought it would have been by him." Hinata smiled at him and opened her umbrella, preparing to leave. Shikamaru shivered again and stood, "I guess I'd better get home, but this rain is so troublesome." He sighed and walked out into the rain, "Maybe Temari can help me warm up." Hinata saw the look in his eyes and the small smirk he had and blushed realizing what he meant by warming up. She started off in the direction of the library, looking to the sky and hoping Naruto would be there. _'Where are you, Naruto-kun?'_

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Well there you have it I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated. I won't be doing any previews down here because I believe that ruins the suspense of the moment cause by my choices of when to end chapters.

Many thanks to Lady Detia my Beta reader. You should read her fics "Revealed Connections" and "Mother's Instinct"


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